


Western

by 50251sid



Category: The Borgias, The Borgias (2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, American History, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Sibling Incest, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-05 18:56:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1828687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50251sid/pseuds/50251sid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cesare and Lucrezia in the American West</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something That Just Exists To Be Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> I have been creating stories which place C and L in various historical settings, and this one takes place in 1878 in the Oklahoma Territory of the American West. While I have attempted to make it as authentic as possible, I have not always been able to glean the specific information I need, so I am taking the advice of my wise advisor and dear friend, desade1970, and not letting absolute authenticity get in the way of the story I want to tell. Should the reader encounter any obvious gaffes on my part, I humbly ask that you forgive me my trespasses and grant me literary license. May you find this tale as rewarding in the reading as I am finding it in the writing. sid

The plains stretched before her seemingly endlessly, arid, ugly, covered sparsely with stunted shrubs and dried-out grasses. What in God’s name could possibly survive here? She watched out of the train window, hoping for something different to distract her eye, but for mile after mile after mile, it was the same landscape.

She closed her eyes.

_Oh, Mother, why did you have to send me here? I could have remained in Philadelphia with Uncle Morris and Aunt Elisabeth._

But no. Instead she was enduring a journey across a huge portion of the country, traveling west to join a father whom she had only known from an old photograph, and brothers whom she knew not at all.

 

“Mr. Borgia.”

Vannozza’s voice was icy, contemptuous. She quivered with indignation, much like the cut-glass prisms dangling from the chandelier were vibrating in the breeze.

“I have borne with patience every one of your ‘inspirations’, but now you ask too much. I cannot…I will not…leave my home and travel to a…”

She spat out the word.

“… _ranch_ in some godforsaken wilderness filled with savages and bandits and miles and miles of nothingness. Our daughter is barely a month old. Our sons are little children. How can you even think of leaving Philadelphia? Endangering their very lives?”

“How little you understand me, Mrs. Borgia, in spite of being my wife. I am suffocating here. In this city, in this house with its overstuffed furniture and heavy brocade curtains and gewgaws everywhere. How can you not hate it too? You’re cinched into a corset and tight shoes and tight manners and tight propriety. It drives me mad. I need space. Freedom.”

“If you go, you go alone. I will not accompany you.”

“You would divorce me?”

“Certainly not, Mr. Borgia.  But I remain here. With my children. You cannot force me to leave.”

“Mrs. Borgia, you break my heart. But just as you are determined to remain, so I am determined to go. And I am taking my sons with me. I’ll not have them turned into a pair of namby-pambies by you and your brother. The little girl may remain with you, if you can bear to raise her in this hothouse. I thank God we are not in China, else you would be binding her feet.”

The last Rodrigo ever saw of Vannozza was when he waved goodbye to her from the train. She stood on the platform, rigid, dry-eyed, her chin held high. Five-year-old Cesare tugged on his father’s hand.

“Father, when will Mama come to be with us?”

“As soon as Baby Sister is old enough to travel. Don’t worry. They will come soon.”

It was years before Cesare stopped asking about his mother.

 

“They are your family, Lucrezia,” Mother had said, and then she had died. And that was that. Uncle Morris took her to Baltimore and put her on the first of a series of trains to Kansas City. She was to be met at the new Union Depot there by her brother, Cesare, whom she was given to recognize solely from her father’s telegraph which described him:

_Carries two Colt .45 caliber Frontier models._

Which meant absolutely nothing to her.

She herself stood out and was easily identified by her dress and manners. Tiny figure, creamy ivory skin, wide blue eyes, rounded cheeks kissed with a rose flush, full, pouting lips. Dressed in the latest fashion from Godey’s Lady’s Book, although in black silk, as befitted a woman in mourning for her mother. Her blonde hair was piled up in ringlets and a tiny, velvet hat perched upon them.

 

She was having tea in the Depot restaurant when she saw him enter. Without actually knowing, she _knew_. Cesare. Her brother. Unlike any man she had ever seen. She gasped, blushing, and pressed her hand to her beribboned bosom.

He was tall, his fine torso and long legs shown off to advantage by a black sack coat and close fitting fawn-colored trousers. He removed his slouch hat to reveal dark brown hair that swung to his shoulders. His large hazel eyes, dazzling in his square-jawed sunburned face, darted restlessly, searching the room for the woman likeliest to be his sister, and lighted upon Lucrezia. His jaw dropped. Beneath his deep tan, he blanched, stunned, dumbfounded.

He strode to her table.

“Miss Borgia? Miss Lucrezia Borgia?”

“Yes. You must be my brother Cesare.”

“I am.”

“Please join me.”

He pulled out a chair and slumped into it, ordering a whiskey from the server who came to attend him.

Her brother’s fascination made thinking difficult for her but Lucrezia took a breath and attempted polite conversation.

“I am pleased to meet you.”

He had an easy, ready grin.

“Likewise. Sorry about your mother.”

“She was your mother too.”

“I don’t much remember her. You probably don’t remember anything about Father.”

“No. Nor you and our brother.”

“You were just born when Father decided to pull up stakes and move west. He told me that Mother refused to go, so he took me and Juan and went anyway. I was five and Juan was four.”

“Mother said that Father abandoned her and me.”

“He sent money regular every month for your keep.”

“Really? I had no idea. I thought he had completely forgotten us.”

“Then why did you come to be with him?”

“I had no choice. Mother insisted upon it and her brother, our Uncle Morris, couldn’t seem to get me on a train fast enough.”

“Seems a harsh thing to do to a little girl. How old are you anyway?”

“Seventeen.”

“What can you do?”

“Beg pardon?”

“Can you ride a horse? Shoot a gun? Cook a meal?”

“I can speak French and play piano.”

“That won’t do much good back home.”

“I wasn’t brought up for a cattle ranch. I’m sorry. I will try to learn useful things.”

“No, don’t do that. It’s nice to look upon something as fine as you. Something that just exists to be beautiful.”

She blushed deeply and lowered her eyelashes.

“Now that’s what I mean.” His gaze was frankly admiring. “You are just too beautiful for words.”

“You mustn’t say such things to a sister.”

“It’s hard for me to think of you as kin. But I’ll try.”

“Father sent me a telegraph indicating I would know you by the guns you carried. But you are unarmed.”

“I had to check them with the sheriff when I arrived. Kansas City wants no guns within the city limits. I feel kind of nekkid without them, though.”

 

They decided to spend the night in Kansas City and then take the morning stagecoach to their destination. They were obliged to share a room in the hotel, which was crowded with travelers.

She changed her clothes behind a screen which was thoughtfully provided by a sympathetic chambermaid and then sat in her dressing gown and brushed out her golden hair. Cesare had unabashedly stripped to a thin chemise and drawers. His long legs were toned and muscular, the product of many hours in the saddle, guiding his horse with the pressure of his thighs.

He was so at ease within himself, so unselfconscious. So free. So unlike herself, with her tight corset and her tight blonde curls and tight, rigid shoes.

“I didn’t bring anything else to wear. Sorry. I’ll try to stay out of your sight.”

“It can’t be helped, Cesare. We have to get acquainted anyway. So let’s just make the best of it.”

He stood behind Lucrezia and took the hairbrush from her, running it down the length of her blonde curls.

“So pretty. Like a gold waterfall.”

He stroked her hair with long, trembling fingers.

“I haven’t been around many women. Never a woman like you. And never alone in a bedroom.”

“You’re forgetting that we are brother and sister.”

“No I ain’t. But I can’t feel brotherly towards you. Can you feel like a sister to me?”

“No, I suppose not. But we must learn.”

His voice became a whisper.

“I don’t want to.”

His bow-shaped lips curved into a smile which she found nearly impossible to resist.

“What do you want to do, Cesare?”

“Touch you. So I know you aren’t a dream.”

“I’m real. But this all seems like a bad dream to me. Everything I knew is gone.”

Her lips began to quiver and tears dropped from her blue eyes.

“I am in a place which I don’t understand, in which I don’t belong. Useless. Unwanted.”

“I want you.”

“Do you, Cesare?”

“I love you, honey. I’ll marry you. You’ll belong to me.”

“That cannot be.”

“It can. It has to be. I’ll make it be.”

“Let’s not think about that now. Just touch me, Cesare.”

“I will.”

He bent and kissed her shoulder.

She took his hand and rubbed it over her cheeks and throat. Her skin was as smooth as the silk of her dressing gown.

“Your hands are rough. And strong. A man’s hands. Not like those of the men back in Philadelphia, softer than mine. You are like no man I’ve ever known.”

She stood, turning to face him, and let her dressing gown slip to the floor. She wore a very fine sleeveless white muslin one-piece undergarment trimmed in silk ribbon. Her breasts were clearly visible through the delicate fabric.

He drew a sharp breath.

“You want to touch me, Cesare. I want to feel your hands on my body.”

She stepped closer to him. He reached for her and pulled her tightly against his chest, bringing his mouth down to meet hers.

He picked her up easily and carried her to the bed, setting her upon it as if she were made of glass, and then lying down beside her. She pulled the top of her undergarment off her shoulders and slipped her arms free, baring her small, firm breasts to him.

He started to touch her but froze, overwhelmed. She caught his hand and laid it on her breast. He began to slowly caress her, then lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth and sucked. His fingers found her other breast, gently kneading. She pressed her cheek to his head, stroking his long, beautiful hair and sighing softly.

She was so satiny, smelling of violets and cleanliness and warmth and womanhood. He who had known leather and gun metal and cattle and the heat and dust of the plains found himself undone by this tiny, fragile angelic creature beside him. It was indeed his hand stroking her breast, teasing the nipple. Those were his fingers pressing into the yielding flesh. Her slim, ivory arms circled his sunburned neck, her small pale hands radiant against his darkened skin. He brought her hand to his mouth and sucked on her fingernails, running his tongue over their buffed smoothness. He wanted to see and feel and smell and taste every part of her. She helped him to push the rest of her soft muslin garment from her. Her nude body glowed beside him. He did not know what to look at first. Instinct took over and his hand went between her thighs, finding there a patch of dark hair that made him gasp. Transported, he pushed her legs open, forgetting himself in his eagerness. He caught the scent of her and moved in closer, inhaling, rubbing his face over her soft pelt.

_Do men usually do such things, she wondered. Mother had never told her of anything that occurred between man and woman. Only that someday she would have to perform her “marital duty,” which sounded distasteful and to be dreaded. Mother had lied about Father completely abandoning them. She had obviously lied about this too._

The touch of his tongue caused her to jump. She grasped a handful of his hair.

“Cesare. Cesare. What are you doing to me?”

“Don’t you like it? I’ll stop if you don’t like it.”

“No, don’t stop! I never knew of such things. Teach me more.”

“Honey, I’m just doing what feels right to me. I need you to tell me if it feels right for you too.”

“My darling. Do whatever you like.”

“I want you to like it too.”

“Let me see you, Cesare.”

He pulled his chemise over his head and tossed it away. The sight of his torso quite took her breath. He was all lean, hard muscle, smooth and pale where he was not darkened by the sun. His nipples were small and invited her touch. She ran her fingers delicately over them, causing him to groan with pleasure. He kissed her lips, his own tasting slick with her juices.

“Do you like how I taste, Cesare?” she asked timidly.

“Taste, smell, look, feel. Everything.”

“I’ve never seen a man before. But I’m sure that few are as beautiful as you are.”

“I please you?”

“You’re like the statues of gods that I used to see in the museum.”

“Aw, now, honey, I don’t know about that.”

“You’re divine. Let me see the rest of you.”

Her eyes widened when he removed his drawers.

“The statues didn’t look like that.”

“You’ve never seen one angry before.”

“Are you angry at me?”

“No, honey. It’s just an expression. It means a man who is…desirous of a woman. His pecker grows.”

“Pecker?”

“Well, what do you call it?”

“I don’t know any words for a man.”

“Tell me what you do know.”

“Not much. Nothing, really. Teach me.”

“I don’t know a hell of a lot either, but we can learn together. Just do what feels good to you. Don’t be scared or shy.”

“You really like me?”

“Honey, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I love you.”

She took his pecker in her grasp. Unprepared, surprised, he came in her hand.

“Oh! Oh! Oh, honey! I’m sorry.”

“For what? What just happened?”

“Um…I…um…well, I spilled sooner than I wanted to.”

He was breathing hard and he had to pause.

“You seemed to like it.”

“Yeah. It feels real good to do that. But I’d rather…um…rather have…well, a man is supposed to spill inside of a woman.”

 

It was nearly dawn before they drifted off to sleep. Cesare had demonstrated to Lucrezia proper spillage technique, and she had him repeat the lesson several times for her edification.


	2. Family Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein the bonds of family are pushed and tested

Cesare leaned in confidentially towards the clerk at the City Hall.

“My friend, I am in a hurry to marry my cousin, who just yesterday arrived here from back east for our wedding. Now we were supposed to get married when I took her home to Oklahoma Territory, but, well…Can you help me out here?”

“What’s the rush, young feller?”

Cesare nodded towards the bench where Lucrezia was sitting.

“That’s the lady, Mister. Tell me you wouldn’t be chomping at the bit if you were me.”

“Ah. I see. Well, this is rather irregular, but… She’s your cousin, you say?”

 

After pocketing the gold piece Cesare pushed into his hand, the clerk helpfully directed the prospective bridegroom to a judge who would be accommodating.

His Honor looked Lucrezia over from head to foot, took Cesare aside and spoke quietly.

“I am a man too. I understand. Let’s get the two of you hitched and on your way.”

Another gold piece changed hands, and a wide gold wedding ring, newly purchased, was produced.

 

Cesare hustled Lucrezia up the steps to their hotel room.

“Well, all right, then, Little Mrs. I told you I’d marry you.”

“How did you make it happen?”

“Oh, a little ‘palm grease’ here and there. Works wonders. So now you are my wedded wife.”

_That was the easy part. Convincing Father would be another matter entirely._

Cesare and Lucrezia remained in Kansas City for a few more days. He insisted that she have some new clothing and hats made for herself.

“I don’t want to see you in those widow’s weeds any more. I want you to wear white muslin and pink silk. Some riding clothes. And wide hats so you don’t get sunburned.”

“I have other things in my trunk, Cesare. Not just in black.”

“Good. Wear happy things.”

“I am happy because of you.”

 

They traveled by train from Kansas City to Oklahoma, then hired a coach to take them and Lucrezia’s trunks from the railway depot to home.

 

Rodrigo watched through the window as Cesare helped the tiny blonde vision, clad in a light striped cotton dress, down from the coach. His heart stung. She was the picture of her mother, his wife whom he had never stopped loving, for whom he had never stopped yearning. He had not seen her in seventeen years, but a man could never forget that kind of woman, that kind of beauty.

When he had built his house eight years ago, he wanted it gracious and sumptuous, worthy of a great lady, still hoping his wife would join him. It had luxurious appointments, including indoor plumbing, lavish bedrooms and a stately but comfortable parlor. But no wife.

He sat in his leather chair in the parlor and awaited his daughter.

Cesare entered alone.

“Father, Lucrezia decided to stay in Philadelphia and sent a friend in her place. She’s waiting outside the parlor to meet you.”

“Cesare, your joke is in very poor taste. I saw her through the window when you arrived. She’s the very image of her mother. Bring her to me.”

“How many years has it been since you saw your wife?”

“Not so long that I don’t absolutely see her daughter’s resemblance.”

“Father. I swear she didn’t come. She sent a friend instead. Or maybe I misunderstood what she said and this girl is her cousin or something, not a friend. Which might be why she looks like Mother. Her name is...”

“I named you for Julius Caesar, but perhaps I should have called you after George Washington, because you are a terrible liar. At least, you cannot lie to me. Why are you trying to deceive me as to this young woman’s identity?”

“She’s _not_ my sister.”

“Well, I can see that she is my daughter. Which makes her your sister.”

“All right. All right. She is Lucrezia. But I don’t feel one bit brotherly towards her.”

“Of course not. Not right now. But you will in time.”

“No, Father, I won’t. I am in love with her.”

Rodrigo, astounded, stood up from his chair.

“What did you say?”

“I love her. From the minute I saw her.”

“Bah! She’s a beautiful woman, unlike any you have ever seen before. What you feel is nothing more than infatuation.”

“Call it what you will, but I’ve made her mine.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I married her in Kansas City.”

“Your sister? You married your sister?”

“I have the certificate, all signed and legal.”

“Someone consented to wed a brother to his sister?”

“I said we were cousins. So what?”

“So your marriage is a sham. A fraud.”

“Not if you keep quiet.”

“You’ve lost your mind. You simply cannot have your sister…”

“I already have.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think I mean?

“You’ve known her…intimately?”

“I’ve been husband to her.”

Rodrigo slumped down into his chair.

“Good God! Your own sister.”

“My wife.”

“What were you planning on telling your brother?”

“That she is someone who came in Lucrezia’s place.”

“Well, I didn’t believe that story. Neither will Juan.”

“Then how about the truth?”

“That you have taken his sister into your bed?”

“You know, Father, for a man who fancies himself all refined of speech, you can sure be vulgar.”

“Vulgar? You call _me_ vulgar! You who have lain with your sister in incestuous embrace!”

“Father, I have never raised my hand against you. I’ve never even thought of it. Until now.”

“This is my fault, Son. I should never have kept you boys out here, away from society, away from women. It’s not your fault that the first time you see a woman like her, you take leave of your senses. Why, I grew up in Philadelphia, yet when I first laid eyes on your mother, I was lost. She was that beautiful. So we will just forget about this marriage nonsense, and perhaps you can travel a bit and find yourself a suitable bride and…”

“Father, hear me. I have a bride. I want no other.”

“She is your _sister_!”

“On paper, in the eyes of the law, and in my heart, she is my wife. Accept it.”

“Cesare, I fear to think how Juan will react to this. If you, my sensible, level-headed son, have gone insane over your sister’s beauty, what will he do?”

“Probably kick himself for not having volunteered to go get her from Kansas City, like I did.”

“You are sure your sister loves you as you love her?”

Cesare grinned.

“I would say so.”

“Then bring her to me. We’ve kept her waiting too long already.”

 

Rodrigo held out his arms to Lucrezia.

“Come and let me embrace you, my dear child. You were only a newborn when I last saw you and you have grown into a beautiful woman.”

With an eager smile, she rushed to her father. He held her tightly, inhaling the scent of her, of violets and softness and femininity. How like his wife! Vannozza’s absence had remained like a thorn in his heart, and this girl had brought that ache back to him wrenchingly.

“You are the picture of your mother. I feel her loss deeply, and I am glad you are come to comfort me.”

Lucrezia stole a glance at Cesare. Obviously, the story they had agreed upon, that she was a friend come in Lucrezia’s place, was not currency.

“Father knows the truth, Lucrezia. He is shocked, disappointed, maybe, but willing to go along.”

“Thank you, Father. We did not intend for this to happen. But we fell that much in love.”

“I understand, Child. I felt the same for your mother. But your brother Juan will take some convincing.”

“You just leave Juan to me, Lucrezia. Don’t worry your pretty little head about my brother.”

“ _Our_ brother, Cesare. He’s my brother too.”

“You’re right. But his temper is mine to face. Not yours.”

“Cesare. Lucrezia. We will deal with this together.”

 

Yee Chung, the cook, served lemonade made from the fruit of a small stand of lemon trees which had grown from seeds he had carefully carried with him from China and planted in the red soil of his new home on the Borgia spread.

 

Although Juan looked very different from Cesare, he was equally striking in appearance. Nearly as tall, with long red hair and beautiful, acorn-brown eyes, he was muscular and graceful in his movements. Like his older brother, he was lightly bearded, which enhanced the fine-boned planes of his face.

Returning from herding cattle, he jumped down from his Appaloosa stallion, tossed the reins to a ranch hand and loped up onto the veranda. He paused a moment to brush some dust from his clothes and boots and then went inside.

“Father. Have Cesare and our sister arrived yet?”

“We are all here in the parlor, Juan.”

From the way Juan froze and then, open-mouthed, slowly removed his hat, it was obvious that he found Lucrezia as captivating as had Cesare.

She stood up from a settee upholstered in green velvet and kissed her brother’s cheek.

“I am glad to meet you, Juan.”

“Lucrezia,” he stammered. “It’s…I’m…hello. Welcome.”

Juan stared at Lucrezia, mesmerized, scarcely breathing.

Uncomfortable with Juan’s fascination with her, Lucrezia attempted to distract him.

“Father, Cesare tells me that the Borgia ranch comprises an enormous amount of land. How did you manage to acquire all of it?”

“Well, my dear, I don’t own all of the grazing lands the Borgia cattle feed on. A good portion is ‘open range.’ But I do have a substantial lot of acreage to my name, desirable lands with abundant water resources. I have been able to add to these holdings in one way and another. Sometimes even through ‘palm grease.’”

“Ah. I see where Cesare has learned about that.”

Juan still stared at her.

_Well, let’s go with it…_

“Dear Brother. Tell me about yourself…”

 

After a pleasant interval of chatting, Juan excused himself to wash up for dinner. Cesare escorted Lucrezia to his bedroom, which he would now be sharing with her.

“We’ll do some fixing up for you, darlin’, make it prettier, more fitting for a lady. You have a whatchacallit…’ _salon de bain’_ to use, so I hope you like that. When Father built this house, he tried to make it as fancy as he could for when Mother came to be with us. Kind of sad that we never had a woman live here until now.”

He showed her the bathroom and drew her a tub of warm water.

“Your bath awaits, Madame.”

While she reclined in the tub, she continued asking questions.

“Did Father really miss Mother? I get the feeling that he kept hoping she would come to him.”

“He held onto that hope…we all did…for a lot of years. He built this house eight years ago and wrote to her, begging her to come. He was sad without her. What was she like?”

“Proper. Stiff. Cold. She never said anything kind about him. I was of the impression that we lived off the charity of Uncle Morris and felt beholden to him because I always had pretty clothes and went to a Ladies’ Academy. Father must have provided very well for us.”

“It was the honorable thing to do. He did feel right bad about leaving you, but he just couldn’t stand city life.”

“And Mother could not live anywhere else. His leaving left her shocked and bitter. Secretly, I think she kept hoping he would return to her.”

“I wished he would too. For a long time. I didn’t like it here much, even though we had horses and plenty of room to play. I was just a little feller, and I wanted my mama.”

“Oh, Cesare.”

Lucrezia caressed his cheek, her wedding band gleaming softly.

“I am here with you now, and I will never leave. Although I cannot make up for the maternal love you did not have, I can give you a woman’s love. Now let me finish bathing and then I will tend you.”

He helped her from the tub and wrapped her in a big cloth. She drained the tub and wiped it out, then filled it with clean water and undressed Cesare, smiling with pleasure as each part of his body was revealed to her.

“I declare, you are beautiful. Now let me wash you so you can dress for dinner.

He stretched out under her tender attentions and relaxed until her fingers guided the washcloth to his crotch. He gripped her wrist and pressed her hand hard to his pecker, and he eagerly kissed her mouth.

“I want you, Little Mrs. Right now.”

“There’s not enough time, my darling. We are expected at dinner very soon. We barely have enough time to dress.”

“Later then. Promise me.” His voice was husky with desire.

“I promise. I want it too.”

 

Helping a woman to dress was entirely new to Cesare, and his hands were clumsy, but he managed to get Lucrezia’s corset cinched over her chemise and drawers. When he watched her pull on white silk stockings and secure them with lace garters, he became so aroused that she had to quickly gratify him with her hand, which he guided with his own. He spilled onto her drawers, causing her much delight. He blushed with embarrassment.

“Aw, honey. Sorry. Now you’ll have to change into clean ones.”

“Absolutely not. I’ll leave these on and savor them and let them remind me of what awaits us later.”

He kissed her gratefully.

 

Radiant in a pink silk gown trimmed with ruffles and ribbons, Lucrezia seemed more a vision than a real woman in the candlelight at the table.

Rodrigo and his two sons blatantly stared at her.

“Lucrezia, Daughter, it is a joy to have a woman’s presence in this house. I had despaired of it ever coming to pass.”

“Thank you, Father, for making me feel so welcome. Having been uprooted from all that I knew was a frightening thought, but now I am glad to be here. I am beginning a completely new life.”

She and Cesare exchanged intimate smiles, which did not go unobserved by Juan.

“Brother. I could have sworn I heard your voice coming from the bathroom when Lucrezia was in there. What was that all about?”

Cesare sighed and tossed his napkin onto the table.

“Well, Juan, there’s something you need to know…”

“Juan,” Rodrigo interrupted. “Since you lived apart all your lives, it is only natural that no feelings of fraternal affection exist between my sons and my daughter. When Cesare met Lucrezia in Kansas City, they fell in love with each other and went through a marriage ceremony. They intend to live as man and wife.”

Juan’s face morphed from surprised to astounded to flat-out enraged. He jumped up from his chair and pointed a finger, shaking with fury, at Cesare.

“You depraved, unnatural bastard. Your sister. _My_ sister. Your daughter. Father, you cannot be willing to allow this under your own roof.”

“It is a _fait accompli_ , Son. I bow to the inevitable.”

Cesare had stood to face Juan and sneered.

“What’s the matter, Brother? Are you jealous that she chose me?”

“You get everything you want. Everything. I hate you, Cesare. Father lets you have her. You get her and I get nothing.”

He turned full on to Lucrezia.

“Why him? Why do you want him? You’re so beautiful. You could have any man in the entire territory. Hell, in the entire country!  Why him?”

“What Juan means, Lucrezia,” Cesare taunted, “Is why me and not him?”

“Juan,” Lucrezia began. “Cesare and I didn’t intend…”

 

  
Cesare lay on his back in bed, with Lucrezia nestled in the crook of his arm, her head resting on his bare chest. Damn, it was fine to sleep with a woman! He had had sexual intercourse more times in these past few days than he had up to now in his entire life. At least with a partner.

He rather wished his bed creaked, so that his chucklehead brother could have heard him and Lucrezia earlier. Would have served Juan right for the fit he pitched at the dinner table, shaming his Little Mrs. and hurting her feelings. Father had a hard job of it to keep his sons from exchanging blows.

Although he should have some measure of sympathy for his brother. He certainly knew what it felt like to be a young man in a place where the only available women were to be found in the saloon in town, two singularly uncomely whores who serviced heaven only knew how many customers, including, he blushed to admit, Cesare Borgia on occasion.

For Juan to see a woman like Lucrezia, young, beautiful, fresh and refined, well, it had to have put thoughts into his head, just as it had Cesare.

Maybe she would have loved Juan if she had seen him first.

No. Never.

Push that right out of his mind. Lucrezia loved him. And only him.

He kissed her forehead and drew her closer to him. She sighed, sweetly, like music. Like a woman. Her body was soft. Fragrant. Yet she loved his hands on her. His weight pressing on her as he plowed her furrow. She liked him spilling his spunk into her, and onto her. She liked the pleasure and ease which she knew her body gave to his.

Goddam! Those white silk stockings of hers. And the lace of her garters. He couldn’t help himself. She liked that he was so hot for her, couldn’t control himself. Good thing for him she didn’t tease. She let him have her as much as he wanted. He had run his fingers up and down her smooth legs and caressed her soft little feet, like white rose petals in his sunburned hands.

He’d give her a horse of her own. A nice, gentle little mare who could be trusted to conduct her around without getting temperamental like some mares got when they went into heat. And a maid. She should have a lady’s maid. Another woman in the house. Maybe that would pacify Juan. Someone who might even let him poke her.

And a piano. He was sure he could talk Father into ordering her a piano. Imagine having an evening of music played by a real lady. He’d proudly stand beside her as she played, his Little Mrs. His own woman. His wife.


	3. Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein territories are claimed

Juan rode out alone on Hades, his big Appaloosa, while it was yet dark.

About an hour after sunup, wearing her new riding breeches, Lucrezia mounted the small chestnut mare Cesare had saddled for her. He stood beside the horse and adjusted the stirrups.

“I hope you don’t mind riding astride, honey. We do have one of those high-falutin’ lady’s side saddles that Father got to have ready for Mother, but it’s buried somewhere out in the barn.”

“Cesare, I have never sat a horse in my life. I’ve only ridden in carriages. So I really don’t know the difference.”

“Well, I’m told that a proper lady rides side saddle. Father was kind of put out about me making you ride astride.”

She leaned over to him with a naughty smile.

“I’m used to riding my great big stallion astride. I daresay I can manage on this sweet little mare.”

He grinned and kissed her quickly, blushing.

“Ah. Here’s Father, ready to take us on a grand tour. Are you ready to see your new domain, Little Mrs?”

“I surely am.”

“Daughter, your skin is so fine and delicate. Please be sure to keep your wide-brimmed hat and your gloves on or the sun will burn you up. It’s early morning and already the heat is cruel.”

“I will, Father. I will be guided by what you tell me.”

Rodrigo sighed. If only her mother had been so tractable!

“Cesare, did you choose a proper horse for your wi…for Lucrezia?”

He could not bring himself to say the word ‘wife.’ Lucrezia looked so much like Vannozza it made his heart hurt. If only she had come to join him! She would have been happy. He would have made her happy. Now she was gone forever.

“Yes, Father. Flower is a good little girl. She will behave real nice for Lucrezia.”

He mounted his own grey gelding, Jupiter, and they set off.

 

Gazing out over the grazing lands of the Borgia spread, Lucrezia was stunned by the sheer size and openness of the land. And the vast numbers of cattle. An enormous herd, seemingly limitless. Bellowing. Churning up dust. The cowboys called and whistled as they moved the stock. Their agile horses whirled and cut through knots of cows, instantly responsive to the riders. The herd appeared to be one huge, living, breathing organism, constantly heaving and changing shape.

“They are taking the cows to water now,” Cesare said. “After that, to graze. It’s hot, dusty work, but the boys seem to like the open spaces. They eat well, and have the best of horses and tack and other equipment. Father treats them fine and pays them good. Most of them have worked for us for years.”

“Oh, now, Son, it just makes good sense to keep them happy. They stay on and I have a loyal and experienced crew working for me.”

“You can’t stand to have anyone leave.”

“Pshaw! Listen to you. I just don’t like losing good workers.”

Lucrezia sat quietly on her horse and pondered her father. His separation from her mother had clearly left deep scars on his soul. But if he had found her loss so painful, why had he not returned to her in Philadelphia? Pride? Stubbornness? Wanderlust? He had seemed to hold onto hope, building the grand house in an effort to lure her to him.

And Mother? She who nearly swooned at dust on her carriage boots would never have adapted to life on the plains.

She had an iron rod for a backbone. Underneath that soft, ladylike façade, she was as hard and willful as any man. She saw carefully to Lucrezia’s upbringing, just as she saw to the maintenance of her home and her exquisite clothing and wardrobe of fine jewels. Lucrezia was as closely tended and polished as Mother’s silver tea service or the brass lion’s head knocker on the front door. She had felt prized, but not particularly loved. Mother had never rocked her or cuddled her. Never came to comfort her. Never smiled at her. Frowned and sneered if Lucrezia had gotten her dress or her hands and face dirty, but that was ever the only change to the expression on Mother’s perfect face.

Lucrezia glanced over at Cesare just as he turned his face to look at her, his eyes soft and yearning, glowing with love for her. So openly, unashamedly, helplessly enamored of her. She lowered her eyelashes and blushed, causing him to direct his horse over beside her. He touched her cheek gently with his fingertips.

“Hey, Little Mrs,” he said softly. “I think it’s about time for us to head back. You shouldn’t be out in the sun too long. Father would take me to the woodshed if I allowed you to get burned.”

“I’m fine, my darling. Really. I want to get used to things as they are here.”

“I won’t have that. I won’t have you change one thing about you. Come on, now. I’ll take you back and you can put on something cool and loose. Yee Chung will make you some lemonade and you can rest up a bit.”

“Cesare, you will spoil me.”

“Yes, Ma’am. You’re my angel. I will absolutely spoil and coddle you.”

“Teach me to care for Flower. Feed her and groom her and such. I want her to get to like me.”

“You’re a lady, Little Mrs. You don’t need to do such things. We have stable hands for that.”

“But Flower won’t feel close to me unless I am the one who looks after her.”

“We’ll see.”

 

Lucrezia wandered into the kitchen as Yee Chung was preparing the evening meal.

“Hello, Yee Chung. May I ask you a favor?”

“Of course, Mrs. Borgia. Is there something you would like me to cook for you?”

“I would like you to teach me to cook.”

“Oh. Mr. Cesare said you might ask me that.”

“He did?”

“Yes, M’am. He said I absolutely was not to do it.”

“Ah. He said that. Well, I don’t want to make things awkward for you, Yee Chung. Let me get out of your way.”

“Is there anything special you’d like, Mrs. Borgia?”

“Whatever you’re making will be just fine, thanks.”

Lucrezia stamped up the steps to her bedroom, where she knew Cesare was getting dressed.

**“CESARE!!!!”**

 

“I won’t have you doing such things. You’re a lady.”

“I’m not in Philadelphia any longer. If I am to belong here, I need to learn to be useful here.”

“No. I need you to be my fine lady.”

“An orchid in a cornfield. Something completely useless.”

“No! Something beautiful. Look around you. What do you see besides dust and scrub and the same damn thing mile after mile after mile? I told you when I met you. You exist just to be beautiful. For me.”

“Do you love _me_ , Cesare, or just your illusion of me?”

He caught her hands in his.

“Do you think I want to see these hands turn red and callused and rough with scrubbing pots and currying horses? Shoot, honey, I see hands like that all the time. I’ve never seen hands like yours. You _are_ like an orchid. Something rare and precious. I treasure you.”

“But I need to feel like I’m contributing, Cesare. Not just taking. Not just being pampered. I am your wife. I want to take care of you too.”

“You said I’m like no man you ever knew. How about we get on a train and go live in Philadelphia? I’ll be one of those men with soft hands that you told me about. Wear a suit and a fancy Ascot tie with a big diamond stickpin. Work in some bank or brokerage house. Sip tea with my pinkie finger up in the air. How will you like me then?”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Well, is it _me_ you love, or just your illusion of me?”

“All right. I get your point. But, Cesare, I must do something! I promise I won’t herd cattle or break mustangs or even scrub pots. But I would like to take care of Flower. Just her. And maybe help out in the kitchen a bit. I can chop vegetables and make pancakes and things like that. The cook back in Philadelphia taught me some things because I asked her. I can sew a bit, too.   I can do mending. I need to feel that I’m of use.”

“Lucrezia. Honey. When I’m out there, riding among the cattle and the men and the dust, I think of you. Just you. Of how I want nothing but to come home to you. I don’t think about what you’ve cooked for me or what you’ve sewn for me or whether you’ve swept the floor. I imagine holding you in my arms, soft and delicate and dressed in silk with your white stockings and your lace garters. I picture you reading me poems by lamplight. Kissing me with those sweet lips of yours. I see your hair falling down over your back and me touching it, stroking it. That’s what I need from you. That you’re a woman. All that other stuff…I can come by that easy enough. You’re the only one who can give me the beauty I crave. The beauty that just knocked me over from the first moment I ever saw you.”

“Cesare. You make me feel selfish. Only concerned with my own needs.”

“I don’t intend to make you feel bad. I just want you to know what you mean to me. When I hold you in my arms, when you let me make love to you...why, I just feel like I’ve gone to heaven and an angel has given herself to me. I know you want Flower to like you. Tell you what. I’ll help you take care of her. Take you riding on her for a bit every day. You can give her treats. As far as other things, well, I don’t know about that. I was studying on getting you a lady’s maid to take care of you. Another woman to keep you company.”

“Not just yet, my love. Let me settle in and feel that I am truly the lady of the house.”

“Well, all right, but it’d be more proper if a woman looked after you, helped you dress and suchlike. I like doing things for you, but if I keep it up too long, the fellers will be laughing at me and calling me a namby-pamby.”

“Heaven forbid. But perhaps you should remind them that in addition to helping me dress, you help me to _undress._ ”

“Well, Little Mrs, that is a point to consider.”

 

Juan did not return home that night until well after dark, when everyone had gone to bed. Lucrezia heard him moving around in his room. Donning her dressing gown, she quietly slipped down the hall and tapped on his door.

“Juan, it’s I, Lucrezia. May I come in?”

“I’m not fit for receiving at the moment, Sister.”

“Please, Juan. Talk to me.”

She heard footsteps approach and then Juan appeared in the doorway, holding a flickering oil lamp. He was wearing a night shirt and appeared to have cleansed his face and hands at the washstand near the bed. He had a glass of whiskey on his bureau and now he poured another one which he handed to Lucrezia.

The room was dark, with the light of the oil lamp creating a chiaroscuro that surrounded Juan, causing him to appear mysterious and surreal, highlighting the beautiful geometry of his face.

“Come on in, then, if you don’t mind the impropriety of being in the bedroom of a man not your husband. But then, you don’t seem to care about propriety at all, do you?”

“I care about you, Juan. I care what you think about me.”

“Why?”

“Because I want us to be a family.”

“Not the kind of family you want with Cesare, I’ll wager.”

“Juan, why are you so angry?”

He sat down on the side of his bed, half disappearing into deep shadows, and regarded her steadily.

“You don’t think I’m entitled to be angry that my brother and sister engage in incestuous carnal knowledge and our father condones it?”

“Juan, we met and fell in love. It just happened.”

“And if it had been me there instead of Cesare, then what? Would you be in _my_ bed tonight instead of his?”

“You are cruel, Juan. I fell in love with Cesare. Is that so hard to believe?”

“You say you can’t feel towards him as a brother because you had not been raised with him, yet you can want him as your lover. I don’t follow your logic.”

“Love isn’t logical.”

“No, nor hate neither.”

“The other night, you told Cesare you hated him. Why?”

“When people get mad, they are inclined to spout foolishness.”

“You seemed to be saying things you had long wanted to say.”

“Well, maybe I was. So what? Nothing came of it. Nobody cares.”

“I care. Tell me what is between the two of you.”

“It’s late. I’m tired. I should think you would be, too, what with my…our brother at you all the time.”

Sitting down on a chair which was covered with his discarded clothing, she brought the whiskey glass to her lips but only pretended to drink. She set the tumbler down on the washstand.

“Vulgarity won’t scare me away, Juan. Tell me.”

He stood up and began to slowly pace back and forth, sipping his whiskey, the glint of the lamp shimmering on his deep red hair. His shadow, elongated like an El Greco painting, passed over her.

“Cesare is just one of those people to whom things come easy. He does everything well without trying. Father dotes on him. And Fortune smiles on him. Why, just look. He goes to Kansas City for what should be nothing more than a long, dusty, boring duty mission and he comes home with Aphrodite. The most beautiful woman in a million miles, and he has her wrapped up all to himself. I shouldn’t ask this, but I will anyway…I suppose you were a virgin, too?”

Blushing, she nodded.

“There. See what I mean. Luck of the devil. He gets it all. Why? Why him? I try hard. I work hard. But all I get is a fistful of nothing.”

“I look around me and see that you seem to be amply provided for.”

“Oh, I have _things_. Fine things. From my father. But I don’t have my father’s respect. Cesare’s shining light causes me to fade out. It always will. And I just don’t understand why. What makes him more deserving than me?”

“He isn’t more deserving, Juan. But maybe he takes more chances. Makes his own luck.”

“Maybe. He sure got lucky with you. It really doesn’t bother you that he’s your brother?”

“I can’t think of him as a brother. When I met Cesare, it was as a woman meeting a man.”

His voice grew soft, velvety, caressing.

“Then how do you feel about me?”

He edged closer to her. She could feel the warmth of his body through his nightshirt. See the outline of his sleek, muscular chest. Nervously, she cleared her throat. This wasn’t going as she had intended. She mustn’t lose control.

“As someone I care about very much. Someone I want for my close friend.”

He reached his hand out and appeared to be absent-mindedly running his finger around the rim of her whiskey glass. His brown eyes, in the light of the oil lamp, smoldered, commanding her to meet his gaze.

“Couldn’t you love me too?”

Her jaw clenched.

“Juan, don’t ask me such questions. I grew up in a cold, distant household. Nobody ever even touched me. Cesare offered me a kind of love which swept me away, it was so strong. He loves me…publicly. Lets it show. Doesn’t care who knows.”

“I could love you like that. If you’d let me.”

He was so close to her that she could smell the liquor on his breath, see the moisture of it glisten on his lips. Her breathing quickened a little.

With great effort, she maintained her calm countenance, but her hand trembled. She pulled it inside the sleeve of her dressing gown.

“I belong to Cesare. I am his. But you could find yourself a wife of your own. You have everything to offer and could provide a fine life for a woman. Why not travel a bit? Look around. Go back east, even.”

He brought his finger, damp with whiskey from the rim of her glass, to his lips and licked it. She shivered.

“Could I find another you? Because you are what I want.”

“Juan, please stop saying such things. I am your brother’s wife.”

“So you don’t mind incest, but you draw the line at adultery.”

Wincing as if she had been slapped, Lucrezia stood up. Juan’s face crumpled with shame.

“I’m sorry, Lucrezia. Please forgive me. That was my jealousy talking. You’re so beautiful. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I think I felt about you just as Cesare must have when he first saw you. Can you blame me for wanting you too?”

Enough. She raised her chin.

“As we are to be living together under the same roof, I want us to get on and be friends. But please be clear that while I can be your close friend, I am Cesare’s faithful wife. I do urge you to consider making an effort to find yourself a bride. Any woman of spirit would consider herself fortunate to win the love of a man as handsome and charming and desirable as you are.”

They bid each other good night and Lucrezia went back to her room, where she got into bed with Cesare and pressed her shivering body against his. He stirred and draped his arm over her.

“S’matter, honey? Are you cold?” he murmured.

“I guess I am. Please hold me close.”

 

As he shut the door behind her, Juan smiled.

_She finds me desirable._


	4. Poetry And Passions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein poetry is read and passions are stirred

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With appreciation to Sir Walter Scott

Lucrezia brought Flower a treat of carrots, which the mare gobbled eagerly.

“Such a pretty little girl. We’re going to be good friends, aren’t we?”

Cesare set a saddle on Flower’s blanketed back and cinched it comfortably.

“Flower is a real good horse. She has a nice, sweet disposition. I’ve always made sure to treat her right so she stays trusting. Like some horses will puff out their bellies when anyone tries to tighten the cinch on their saddle and then the rider can’t get a proper fit. That’s usually because the horse has been handled rough and been hurt. We won’t allow that. Our cowhands know to be good to their mounts. All right, then, Little Mrs. Let’s get you going.”

Lucrezia needed help getting her foot into the stirrup, but then swung her leg nimbly over Flower’s back.

“I’m just going to walk her around for a little bit so the two of you can get used to each other. I think Flower appreciates having to carry around a light burden. I’ve never allowed her to be worked too hard, though. She’s never been used as a cattle horse or anything much other than kind of my pet. I just couldn’t countenance treating such a little girl harshly.”

“Why, Cesare, you are truly gallant to females of all sorts.”

“Aw, now, enough of that foolishness. Just mind Flower. Feel how she moves.”

 

As Cesare was showing Lucrezia how to groom Flower, Juan entered the stable leading Hades. The mare began to edge closer to Cesare, snorting nervously.

“Juan, take your damn horse out of here, will you?” Cesare snapped. “You know Flower is scared of him.”

“Hello to you, too. How was I supposed to know you’d have her here? Hades needs to have his feet looked after by the farrier. I think he picked up a stone.”

“Fine. Just get him away from here.”

Juan touched the brim of his hat.

“Good day, Sister. I’ll see you at dinner.”

As Juan led his stallion to the farrier’s workshop, Cesare sighed with irritation and resumed brushing Flower.

“He gets a kick out of being the only one who can handle that contrary horse of his. Hades has a liking for Flower, but she’s afraid of him. He tries to nip and bite her like a stallion will when he fancies a mare, but he’s too rough for her comfort. She’s just a delicate little lady, like you.”

“Now, Cesare, you know perfectly well that I like my stallion to be a little rough with me.”

“And you know that I’d never be rougher with you than you wanted. That you’d only have to tell me to stop, and I would. Hades wouldn’t. And I suspect Juan wouldn’t either.”

“Why are you telling me such things?”

“So you don’t think I’m being unkind to Juan. He has a mean streak in him. He goes around like he’s mad at the world, blaming the world for what he sees as his misfortunes. Nothing is ever his own fault. Everyone and everything is against him. He thinks Father favors me and that everything _he_ wants gets handed to _me_.”

“I know. I tried to tell him that you take chances and make your own luck.”

“When did you talk to him?”

“Oh, the other day. In passing. I want us to be friends. We do live together now, after all. It’s better that we try to get along with each other.”

“You’re right about that. But Juan’s got a chip on his shoulder the size of the Rock of Gibraltar. I don’t know if there’s any talking sense into him.”

“Growing up without a mother seems to have hurt him awfully.”

“Yeah, well, it hurt me too, but you don’t see me going around bellyaching about it.”

“You’re a different person, Cesare. Maybe you’re smarter than Juan. You think more clearly. Juan just _feels_.”

“I’m not sure what to make of that. I have feelings too.”

“I know. But you seem better able to control them.”

“So weak-willed Juan gets your sympathy and what do I get?”

“Why, you sound like a jealous little boy!”

“Maybe I am. I told you, I have feelings too.”

“You, my darling, get my heart and soul. You get my body and my love. Forever. Or would you rather have just my sympathy?”

“Nope. I’ll keep what you give me. Now how about we finish up with Flower here and go get ready for dinner. Then later on, I’d really like it if you’d read to us all. Some poems maybe, or from a book about knights and ladies. Father would enjoy that.”

 

Lucrezia wore azure silk which set off her blue eyes and glowing skin as she turned the pages of a volume of the poems of Sir Walter Scott. In a clear, pure voice, she read aloud.

 

_O young Lochinvar is come out of the west,_   
_Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;_   
_And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,_   
_He rode all unarm’d, and he rode all alone._   
_So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,_   
_There never was knight like the young Lochinvar._

 

The three men who made up her audience sat spellbound as she recited the tale of the intrepid young knight who rescues his fair lady from a marriage to a ‘poor, craven bridegroom.’

When she concluded, Rodrigo jumped from his chair, caught her face between his hands and kissed her cheek.

“My dear child!” he exclaimed. “What a joy to have you among us! We have been deprived of the refinement of a lady, and have sorely missed it. Please read some more to us.”

“For you, dear Father, a poem called ‘My Native Land.’”

 

_Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,_   
_Who never to himself hath said,_   
_This is my own, my native land!_   
_Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,_   
_As home his footsteps he hath turn'd_   
_From wandering on a foreign strand!_   
_If such there breathe, go, mark him well;_   
_For him no Minstrel raptures swell;_   
_High though his titles, proud his name,_   
_Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;_   
_Despite those titles, power, and pelf,_   
_The wretch, concentred all in self,_   
_Living, shall forfeit fair renown,_   
_And, doubly dying, shall go down_   
_To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,_   
_Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung._

 

Rodrigo wiped a tear from his eye.

“Thank you, my dear. A beautiful tribute.”

Juan took the book from Lucrezia.

“Let me have a turn, Sister. I will read one called ‘Nora’s Vow.’”

“Dear Brother,” Lucrezia began, “Perhaps a different selection may be…”

Ignoring her, Juan started to read.

_Hear what Highland Nora said, -_   
_'The Earlie's son I will not wed,_   
_Should all the race of nature die,_   
_And none be left but he and I._   
_For all the gold, for all the gear,_   
_And all the lands both far and near,_   
_That ever valour lost o won,_   
_I would not wed the Earlie's son.' -_   
_'A maiden's vows,' old Callum spoke,_   
_'Are lightly made and lightly broke;_   
_The heather on the mountain's height_   
_Begins to bloom in purple light;_   
_The frost-wind soon shall sweep away_   
_That lustre deep from glen and brae;_   
_Yet Nora, ere its bloom be gone,_   
_May blithely wed the Earlie's son.' -_   
  
_'The swan,' she said, 'the lake's clear breast_   
_May barter for the eagle's nest;_   
_The Awe's fierce stream may backward turn,_   
_Ben-Cruaichan fall, and crush Kilchurn;_   
_Our kilted clans, when blood is high,_   
_Before their foes may turn and fly;_   
_But I, were all these marvels done,_   
_Would never wed the Earlie's son.'_   
  
_Still in the water-lily's shade_   
_Her wonted nest the wild-swan made;_   
_Ben-Cruaichan stands as fast as ever,_   
_Still downward foams the Awe's fierce river;_   
_To shun the clash of foeman's steel,_   
_No Highland brogue has turn'd the heel;_   
_But Nora's heart is lost and won,_   
_She's wedded to the Earlie's son!_

 

Lucrezia, in consternation, glanced at Cesare’s face, gone frozen with rage.

“My dear,” she stammered, reaching for his clenched hand. “I am suddenly fatigued. Would you escort me to bed?”

“Do that, Cesare, please,” Rodrigo urged. “At once. Your lady requires your attention.”

Casting murderous eyes at Juan, Cesare circled Lucrezia with his arm and guided her from the parlor.

“We will talk later, Brother,” he snarled over his shoulder. “You may count on it.”

Juan gave a leering grin.

 

“Can you still feel sympathy for him, Lucrezia? Still feel sorry for him?”

“He did an awful thing, tonight, I admit.”

“Implying that you’re fickle in your vows. That he can take you away from me.”

“Do you think he can?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Then what does it matter what he thinks? You and I know the truth.”

“But Juan has to know that he can’t say things to you or about you like he’s been doing. He’s disrespectful to you, to me, to us. If I let that go on, then I ain’t much of a man.”

“Cesare, you know I belong only to you. Is it really worth antagonizing Juan?”

“I don’t care for myself. But I won’t have him insulting you. Now I need you to promise me that you’ll stay in our bedroom no matter what happens downstairs. I need to handle this myself and not worry about what you might see or hear.”

“Darling…”

“Please, Lucrezia. Oblige me in this.”

“I will.”

Cesare helped Lucrezia out of her clothes and into a nightdress of soft white muslin trimmed in ribbons.

“You sure are pretty, honey. Rest assured, I’ll be back here right quick. As soon as I teach that chucklehead a lesson. And don’t worry. We’ll keep it civilized. I promise.”

Lucrezia sat at her dressing table and brushed out her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. Anxiety gnawed at her belly, in spite of Cesare’s reassurances that his discourse with Juan would be polite. She had promised to remain in her room, and she did so, even when she heard shouting that turned to bellowing, even when she heard thumping and crashing and the sound of bone connecting with flesh. When Cesare returned, his eye was blackened, his lip was bloody and split and the knuckles on both of his hands were bruised.

“Honest, honey, I tried to keep it civilized, but that damn fool just wouldn’t listen to reason.”

“Look at you! You’re hurt. Come and let me care for you.”

She took him by the hand and led him to the bathroom, where she gently washed the blood from his face and knuckles and applied an ointment.

“You should see Juan. He got the worst of it.”

“I wouldn’t brag. Brothers doing violence to each other. For shame! I am going to check on Juan now. See if he needs attention.”

“But, honey…”

“But nothing. I’m not proud of him either, but I won’t allow him to go unattended.”

Taking the ointment jar with her, she tapped lightly on Juan’s door.

“Brother, let me come in. I want to tend you.”

“I’m fine.”

She pushed the door open and gasped.  Juan indeed had gotten the worst of it. Both of his eyes were blackened, his nose swollen and his cheek cut and bleeding.

“Shocking. Just shocking. Brothers behaving like this. I am disgusted with both of you.”

She took a cloth from Juan’s washstand and bathed his face.

“Oh, Juan! Why? Why did you behave as you did?”

He covered her hand with his as she tenderly dabbed at his cheek.

“You care about me. You really care about me.”

“Of course I do. But, Juan, you must stop provoking Cesare. Stop making him think that he must defend my honor.”

“I couldn’t help myself. You know how I feel.”

“What did you accomplish besides getting your face battered?”

“I got in a few good licks too.”

“You must stop this. Please.”

He turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand as it rested on his cheek.

“It was worth it to have you touch me like this.”

She snatched her hand away.

“If you do this sort of thing again, I will ignore you. I will not reward your bad behavior with my attention.”

She tossed the cloth onto the washstand and left the room.

 

“Juan.”

Her voice was soft, as was her hand as it slid over his bare chest. He sat up in bed.

“Lucrezia. You’ve come to me?”

“Yes, my darling. I have been thinking and thinking. How brave you were. You forced me to see the truth. I cannot deny my love any longer. Do you still want me?”

“More than ever.”

She let her dressing gown fall to the floor, revealing her naked body to him. He gasped.

“You’re so beautiful. Like a dream.”

He held his arms out to her and she fairly floated to him, climbing into bed beside him.

“Love me, Juan. Make me yours.”

“Lucrezia…what about _him_?”

“I love _you_ , Juan. I know that now.”

Her lips were lush and soft beneath his.

The bed was shaking when he awoke with a start. He was clutching the pillow to his chest, and his heart was pounding. He was drenched in sweat.

_Oh, God, Lucrezia…_

Cesare was horrified to find a bloodstain on the sheet after Lucrezia had gotten up during the night to go to her bathroom.

Cursing himself for a brute, he jumped up and rushed to find her.

“Honey, what happened? Did I hurt you?”

“No, Cesare. It’s just my monthly.”

“Monthly what?”

You don’t know? You truly don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Oh, my darling. You really have not been around women at all, have you? It’s a woman thing. It’s natural, comes every month and lasts for a couple of days, maybe a week. It just means that I’m not going to have a baby. I’m afraid I’ve stained the sheets. Let me put down clean ones.”

“Then you’re all right? You’re not hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“I guess I don’t know any more about women than you do about men.”

“Father probably didn’t see any reason to tell you about such things. Mother didn’t tell me anything either. Our cook explained it to me. She was so kind.”

“Well, does anything need to be done for you?”

“Oh, maybe a little pampering, a cup of tea. Sitting with my feet up. Sometimes I don’t feel too peart. You could rub my stomach for me, if you would.”

Living with a woman was full of surprises.


	5. Brightly Colored Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein preen birds of bright plumage

For the next week, Cesare hovered over Lucrezia, fretting, rubbing her stomach, holding her hand, helping her to get up from her chair after dinner, bringing her tea in bed.

“Darling, I’m not ill. Or infirm. Really.”

“But you’re _bleeding_.”

“Not from a wound. Not like your poor lip. Or Juan’s nose.”

 

Edward Smith had worked as houseman for the Borgias ever since Rodrigo had built his splendid abode eight years before. He did the cleaning and laundry, and came in for his share of ribbing from the ranch hands when a woman’s garments were added to his washday tasks. A man of mellow temperament, he took the teasing good-naturedly, realizing that his proximity to the beautiful Mrs. Borgia was a source of envy and curiosity among the stockmen.

“Mrs. Borgia is a lady. Real kind to me. Her clothes are easier to do up than any of the men’s. She doesn’t get anything too dirty.”

“Yeah? Well, how you like fooling with them dainty little drawers of hers that we see hanging on the clothesline?”

“You shouldn’t be talking about such things. Nor looking at them neither. Them’s private. Anyway, Mr. Cesare pays me extra since I been doing his wife’s duds.”

That ended the teasing.  

 

Cesare, still sporting traces of the marks from his altercation with Juan, asked Lucrezia to accompany him on a trip to town for some supplies. Eager for a look around, she climbed into the buckboard wagon, pulled by a strong bay gelding named Baron.

“The townsfolk will want to gawk at you, honey. I hope you won’t mind too much. They’ll have never seen anything as fine as you.”

“I’ll gawk right back at them.”

“That’s my girl.”

 

Wearing a wide straw hat and lace mitts, Lucrezia sat ramrod straight beside Cesare as they rode into town. She could sit in no other fashion; her whalebone corset forced her rigidly erect. The residential housing was confined to the far edges of town, away from the saloons and dust and noise of horse and foot traffic in the commerce area. In addition to a general store, there was a livery stable and smithy’s forge, a claims office and a hotel, all built close together, almost leaning on each other. Lucrezia noticed the shops of a bootmaker and a tailor, a doctor’s office and the sheriff’s station. A church stood at the outskirts. As their arrival was noticed by residents of the town, men began to emerge from the clapboard buildings, doffing their hats and gazing dumbstruck at Cesare’s Bird of Paradise. She nodded pleasantly at the gawkers, concealing her shyness.

Lucrezia noticed a few women walking about, soberly dressed ladies who lived in the houses at the edges of town. Most of them had children with them.

“I thought there were no women at all.”

“No _available_ women. Some of the shopkeepers do have families here with them.”

Having tethered Baron to a hitching post, Cesare helped Lucrezia down from the buckboard and they entered the general store. Men gathered to stare at her from outside the window.

“How do, Randall? I’d like you to meet my wife, Lucrezia. We’ve come to town for a few things, and I wanted to show her around.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Borgia. You sure are welcome. We heard Cesare brought himself home a little bride from back East. How do you like our Oklahoma Territory?”

“I like it very well, Randall. It’s so huge and open, not at all like Philadelphia. It seems to go on forever and ever.”

“Yeah, it’s awful big, but we’re not cut off from the rest of the country. If there’s anything you want and you don’t see it here, I’ll be glad to order it for you.”

Cesare introduced Lucrezia to the sheriff, the doctor, the livery stable proprietor and all of the other tradespersons in town. The cobbler measured her feet to make her a pair of riding boots and the tailor’s wife, herself a skilled dressmaker, expressed confidence that she would be able to provide garments for any purpose. They paid a call upon the pastor at church and then had a pleasant lunch at the hotel, chatting with staff and guests.

Their errands accomplished, Cesare was helping Lucrezia into the buckboard wagon when a drawling female voice called out to him.

“Well, hello, cowboy.”

He froze momentarily and then recovered, placing his boot on the step up to the driver’s seat.

“Aintcha gonna say hello, Cesare? Introduce me to your Mrs.?”

The woman who spoke stood in the street outside one of the saloons. Her frizzled hair was an artificial-looking shade of carrot-red and she had painted her cheeks with big spots of rouge. She wore a bright dress with a ruffled skirt that showed a red petticoat underneath.

“Who is she?” Lucrezia whispered.

“Nobody fit to be talking to you, darlin’. Let’s go about our business.”

“But you can’t just ignore her.”

“Honey, believe me, she’s…”

“How do, Miz Borgia. I’m Polly. Cesare and I are old friends.”

“Pleased to meet you, Polly, I’m sure.”

Cesare’s jaw clenched. Through gritted teeth, he spoke to the woman.

“We’ll be taking our leave now, Polly.”

“But we just met. Give us a chance to get acquainted, wontcha?”

“You got some gall showing your face to respectable people. Just get on back to the saloon where you belong.”

Lucrezia was shocked.

“Cesare, how can you be so impolite to this lady? Your friend.”

“She’s not my friend.”

“Why, Cesare. Sure I am. Miz Borgia, you might say your husband and I are _intimate_ friends.”

“She ain’t my friend. And she ain’t a lady.”

“Maybe I ain’t no lady, but I been good enough for you to lay down on, Mister. Tell your wife about that.”

“Don’t you be speaking to my wife ever again, you dirty whore.”

Cesare swung himself up onto the buckboard seat and snapped the reins smartly, sending Baron trotting at a fast clip.

“Cesare…”

“Hush now.”

When they had traveled about a mile out of town, Cesare pulled on the reins, bringing Baron to a halt. He turned to Lucrezia.

“Honey, I’m real sorry about that.”

“Is she a…a…”

“Yeah.”

“And you had relations with her?”

“Not a whole lot, honey. Honest. Sometimes I just felt…needful. I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Are you disgusted with me?”

“Just confused. If she’s a dirty whore, then what does that make you? Darling, if you consider her of such low character that you don’t want to acknowledge her on the street in daylight, then maybe you shouldn’t have had any dealings with her at all.”

“I can’t argue with that. I’m ashamed of myself.”

“I’m not saying you should feel shame. Just that maybe you shouldn’t be judging her so harshly. Is she any worse than the men who patronize her?”

“Well…”

“Remember what Jesus said to the people who were going to stone the woman taken in adultery. ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.’ If men weren’t willing to pay Polly for her services, she wouldn’t be selling them.”

“Little Mrs., you are a wise and tolerant woman. Can you forgive me?”

“It was in the past, before we met. Nothing to forgive. But may I count on you to remain faithful to me now?”

“Honey, what I feel when I have you in my arms…well it’s something sacred. Holy. I love you, Lucrezia. I could never want any other woman.”

They rode the rest of the way home with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her.

 

The setting sun turned her hair to molten gold and gilded her face and bare arms. Wearing a white silk dress, she stood on the veranda and reached out to accept the bunch of wild daisies he had brought to her.

He stood on the bottom step, staring up at her, transfixed with desire. She smiled at him, awakening him from his trance.

Without a word, he took her hand and led her upstairs.

The warm scent of violets surrounded Lucrezia as he undressed her. He removed all her clothing but her pink silk stockings and satin garters and set her on their bed. Sliding his hands under her thighs, smooth as polished ivory, he brought his mouth to her sweet little muff and licked her eagerly. Impatient, he did not strip off, merely opened his trousers and stretched his long body on top of hers and pushed into her, thrusting hard and coming quickly. She held him inside her for a long time, her legs wrapped around his, her face buried against his broad shoulder. When she finally let him go, he settled down beside her and stroked her body, kissing her, nuzzling her breasts and caressing her silk-clad legs. She unbuttoned his shirt and rubbed her lips over his chest and dark nipples, still stiff and sensitive from his passion.

He got up after awhile and went to the bathroom to wash. When he returned, she was still reclining on the bed, naked but for her silk stockings. The sun had gone down and she had lit the oil lamp, bathing her lush body in its golden light and velvety shadow. He undressed to the skin and lay on his back, letting her straddle him so he could relish the sight of her as she rode him like a stallion, her head thrown back and her nipples erect under his touch. When she went over the edge of ecstasy, she called out his name and collapsed onto his chest. He embraced her and rocked her body against his, then filled her with his seed as she moaned her delight.

 

_“Cesare!”_

In his bedroom, Juan had heard Lucrezia crying out his brother’s name and had choked on his own impotent jealousy.

 

Lucrezia was not surprised when her expected monthly did not arrive. Nor the next one either. When her morning sickness began, Cesare rode into town for the physician.

 

Doctor Jonas entered the parlor where the three Borgia men stirred nervously, gulping from glasses of whiskey.

“Well, congratulations are in order. Mrs. Borgia is expecting a baby.”

Rodrigo, smiling broadly, clapped his son on the shoulder.

Cesare, stunned, blurted, “You’re sure?”

“Yep. About twelve weeks along. She should deliver sometime in early March.”

“Is everything all right with her?”

“Right as rain. She’s delicate but healthy. Have her put away her corset for now. She should get lots of rest, a little moderate exercise. Keep her off horseback, though. And keep her calm. Pamper her a bit.”

“I always do. Will the baby be all right? My wife and I are …uh…first cousins.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. There isn’t a long family history of close relatives marrying, is there?”

“Well, no. I don’t think so.”

“Then things are probably just fine.”

That night, Cesare dreamed of Lucrezia, wearing a long white gown, strolling through a meadow, stretching out her arms over the swaying grasses, causing flowers to bloom as she passed by. She gathered a bouquet into her hands and brought it to her full, smiling lips, then turned and held the blossoms out to him.

 

Juan punched a hole in his bedroom wall.


	6. Thy Elder Brother I Would Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein occur dreadful events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With appreciation to William Wordsworth

Cesare drove Lucrezia into town to visit the dressmaker, Mrs. Foster, to order some new clothes. Forbidden to wear her corsets, she would now need garments that fit differently.

“I can’t say I’m sorry, either,” she told Cesare as they stopped in front of the tailor’s storefront. “Those corsets are downright unpleasant.”

“It’s a mystery to me how you can even breathe in them.”

“I _can’t_ breathe! But they are what decent, proper women are supposed to wear.”

“Well, I don’t like ‘em. I’m glad you’re getting shut of them.”

“Speaking of decent, proper women, if we see Polly, will you please be polite to her?”

“For you, I will try.”

While Lucrezia was occupied with Mrs. Foster, Cesare excused himself and walked over to the sheriff’s office to apply a little palm grease and thank him for putting Polly under lock and key while he and his Little Mrs. were in town.

“Much obliged, Sheriff. That damn whore pitched a real ugly scene at my wife when I brought her to town for the first time.”

“Glad to be of service, Cesare. Any time you need to, you just send me word like you did that you’ll be coming in and I’ll take care of things. A lady of quality such as Mrs. Borgia shouldn’t have to put up with the likes of Polly.”

“That’s sure kind of you. But pretty soon my Mrs. won’t be ‘going out’ for awhile.”

“Ah! Congratulations! Wonderful news.”

“Thank you. We’re happy about it. Well, I’d best be running along. Thanks again, Sheriff.”

“A pleasure. Please give my regards to Mrs. Borgia.”

 

“Cesare, Mrs. Foster is going to make me the most beautiful things.”

“Well, I’m glad. Just so you make her something in pink silk. I like her in pink silk.”

“Whatever you and Mrs. Borgia wish. I’m pleased to be sewing nice, pretty clothes for a change.”

 

“How about some lunch at the hotel, honey? You’re eating for two now.”

“I’d like that. I had a really nice visit there last time.”

With her hand tucked into the crook of his elbow, Cesare escorted Lucrezia into the hotel dining room and seated her in a chair at a table covered in white damask. He ordered her tea and himself a whiskey and then leaned in towards her, speaking softly.

“This puts me to mind of the first time we saw each other in Kansas City. You were having tea, if I remember right. I wish I could say things like that Sir Walter Scott feller does so I could tell you just how much I love you and what it means to me that you chose me.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You let me know every day. In everything you do. I am the most fortunate woman in the world. I have you and now you’ve given me your child. I love you, Cesare. You are everything to me.”

His eyes lingered on her face like a caress, tender and impassioned. His love for her was palpable, quivering, aching. She rested her hand over his.

 

Since Lucrezia was forbidden to ride horseback during pregnancy, she and Cesare exercised her horse daily by taking her on gentle walks across the grounds. Lucrezia slipped a light hackamore onto the mare’s head and held the reins, but Flower would have followed along without them, enjoying the pleasure of companionship and the crisp autumn air. She nudged Lucrezia affectionately, thanking her for treats of apples and carrots.

Juan watched from his bedroom window, at once charmed by the sight of the petite woman with her dainty horse, and resentful that Cesare loomed beside them, his hand on the small of Lucrezia’s back, towering over her both figuratively and literally. He was with her always, everywhere. When she ate. When she bathed. When she dressed and undressed. When she slept. When she awoke. Even when he wasn’t physically with her, his seed was growing inside her. She could never be rid of his oppressive, suffocating presence. Damn him! Could he not let her alone, even for a moment?

Lucrezia stopped walking Flower and said something to Cesare, causing him to smile and place his hand on her belly. She laid her hand over his and he gazed into her yearning blue eyes and kissed her. She pressed herself against him as he embraced her.

Damn him!

 

Just as Flower edged closer to Cesare for protection from Hades, Lucrezia now tucked herself under his arm whenever Juan came into their presence. Why? Was she afraid of him? How could she be? She knew how he felt about her. He would cut off his own hand before he would hurt her. But ever since that night when she had been lovingly wiping the blood from his face and he had kissed her palm, she had been different to him. Why? Was Cesare saying things about him to her? Telling her lies? Frightening her with untruths about him?

 

The fragile truce that existed between Juan and Cesare grew strained as winter set in and forced the brothers to spend more time indoors and in each other’s company. One evening, seated before the fireplace with a warm woolen blanket over her lap, Lucrezia read aloud to them and Father from William Wordsworth’s poems. Cesare made a great solicitous show of tucking the cover around her, making sure Juan saw him. Father attempted to keep things calm, but provided little help when he offered strong brandy to his sons. Juan gulped his “burning wine” and poured himself another snifter. And another. Lucrezia caught Cesare’s eye and wordlessly begged him not to drink any more. He nodded in acknowledgement. She cringed when Juan took the volume from her hand and announced, his voice thick and slurred, that he would read from _“To A Highland Girl.”_

 

 _What hand but would a garland cull_  
 _For thee who art so beautiful?_  
 _O happy pleasure! Here to dwell_  
 _Beside thee in some healthy dell;_  
 _Adopt your homely ways, and dress_ ,  
 _A Shepherd, thou a Shepherdess!_  
 _But I could frame a wish for thee_  
 _More like a grave reality:_  
 _Thou are to me as but a wave_  
 _Of the wild sea, and I would have_  
 _Some claim upon thee, if I could,_  
 _Though but of common neighbourhood._  
 _What joy to hear thee, and to see!_  
 _Thy elder Brother I would be,_  
 _Thy Father—anything to thee!_

 

She stood, taking Cesare’s hand, and bid her father good night.

 

Juan made sure to be just outside Lucrezia’s bathroom when she emerged from her morning ablutions.

“Hello, Sister.”

“Juan. I didn’t expect to see you.”

She pulled her dressing gown more closely about her, stretching it across her growing belly.

“It’s been awhile since we had a chance to talk privately. I’ve missed confiding with you.”

“Oh! Why, how kind of you to say. But Cesare and I are always happy to…”

“I mean talk with you alone. Have you been avoiding me?”

“Of course not. It’s just that I’ve spent a lot of time in my room resting. And Cesare is so sweet, so protective of me. He hates to have me out of his sight.”

“How well I know. Our brother is always at you.”

Seeing her frown, he quickly amended.

“He’s always _with_ you.”

“My husband cares about me. I’m carrying his child.”

“Your husband. Your brother.”

“Juan. Don’t.”

“My concern for you is the same as Cesare’s. I love you just as much.”

“Please stop saying such things. We can be friends, close friends. But nothing more. Ever.”

“Why? Why can’t you love me?”

“Because I love Cesare. Only him.”

“Could I...share you? I love you enough to take you on any terms. Even those.”

She shrank away from him in horror.

“No! Never!”

“Lucrezia! Please. Have pity on me. I need you in my life just like he does. I need your beauty and your womanliness and your love…”

“Find yourself a wife. Look for one.”

“I want _you_. Can’t you understand that?”

“ _You can’t have me_. Understand that!”

She pushed past him. He tried to grasp her arm.

“Lucrezia…please…don’t go!”

She shoved his hand away and ran to her room, slamming the door and locking it.

Juan stomped down the steps and out the front door. He strode blindly to the stable and pounded his fists on the side of an empty stall, then began kicking the wooden slats until they splintered.

 

Cesare bolted out of bed, awakening Lucrezia.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. A commotion in the stables. I heard it all the way over here. Maybe a bear. Or a cougar. I have to see to it. Stay here.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

Cesare hastily pulled on a shirt, trousers and boots and strapped on his guns. He kissed Lucrezia quickly.

“Don’t worry.”

Wearing his nightshirt, Rodrigo stood in the doorway of his bedroom.

“What is it, Cesare?”

“Something with the horses, Father. I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

 

The full moon lighting his way as he sprinted across the grounds to the stables, Cesare heard the shrill neighs of a horse growing louder as he drew nearer. Likely a cougar had gotten in again. That had happened a year ago and the cat had killed a colt before he was able to dispatch it.

Juan stood in front of a stall, howling with laughter, his eyes wild with glee. Obviously drunk.

“Brother! What the hell?”

“Cesare. Come and see.”

Inside the stall, Juan’s Appaloosa, Hades, had mounted Flower, gripping her neck in his teeth and leaning his rib cage heavily on her hips, squealing and snorting. The mare was terrified and struggling, but had been totally overpowered by the huge stallion.

“Look at him, Brother,” Juan snarled, his lips drawn back from his teeth. “He’s magnificent. Have you ever seen such a stud?”

“You put him in with Flower? You son of a bitch!”

Cesare pointed his .45 at Hades and pulled the trigger. Juan managed to deflect his brother’s aim and the shot went wild, hitting the stable roof. Hades got down from Flower, snorting and shaking his head.

The brothers grappled.

“Put the gun down, Cesare!”

“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you. Then I’ll kill your goddam horse.”

Tommy and Luis, two of the ranch hands, and Lucas, the foreman, burst into the stable just then and were able to disarm Cesare and pull him off of Juan.

“Here, now, this is no way for brothers to behave,” Lucas declared in a strong, calm voice. “Let’s just cool off before someone gets hurt.”

Tommy and Luis had ahold of Cesare, who struggled with his arms pinned behind his back, his chest heaving.

“You put your goddam horse in with my wife’s mare! He raped her.”

Juan twisted in Lucas’s grasp, his teeth clenched furiously.

“He couldn’t have mated her unless she stood still for him.”

“He’s twice her size. She’s scared to death of him. She never would have let him. You can’t have Lucrezia, so you let your stud rape her mare. You twisted bastard.”

“You’re accusing a _horse_ of rape. You’re crazy.”

“I’m accusing _you_ of rape. Poor Flower was just a substitute for Lucrezia.”

Tommy had let go of Cesare and quietly gone to the house to get Rodrigo. Things had to be brought to a halt. Now.

“What in the name of God is going on? My sons scuffling? Stop this at once.”

“He wants Lucrezia, Father. He let his goddam horse violate Flower so he could pretend he was raping Lucrezia. I'll kill him.”

“Cesare is crazy. Flower came on heat and Hades just did what comes natural.”

“Juan, you’ve been drinking. What devilment have you been up to?”

“Oh, sure, Father. Taking his side again. Always taking his side…”

Juan stopped in midsentence, his mouth open. Everyone turned in the direction of his stare.

Lucrezia stood at the stable entrance, a shawl wrapped around her nightdress, her hair tangled, her hand on her belly.

“Cesare. What’s happening? What’s wrong?” Her voice was soft, sleepy, confused.

Luis let go of Cesare and he rushed to Lucrezia’s side, tenderly catching her to him.

“Honey, it’s just a ruckus. Hades got in at Flower.”

“Did he hurt her?”

“I don’t think so. Lucas will see to her. Come on now, Little Mrs. Let me take you back to bed. Father, Juan, we will see about this in the morning.”


	7. Indignities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein occurs a deed most foul

Flower pressed her head against Cesare’s chest when he came to her stall. Lucas had looked her over the night before, and cleaned and tended the bite wounds Hades had inflicted on her, along with the cuts and bruises she had suffered in her efforts to escape. But he could not mend her injured spirit.

Cesare spoke softly to her.

“I’m sorry, Little Girl. I didn’t protect you. I failed you.”

She leaned heavily against him. He stroked her velvety nose.

“He won’t ever hurt you again. No one will. I promise.”

His voice cracked.

Flower snorted softly, nudging him, as if to tell him it was all right.

 

In an atmosphere crackling with hostility, Rodrigo attempted to mediate between his two sons as they sat at the dining table.

“What happened last night was an unfortunate mishap. We all regret it.”

“That was no mishap, Father, and you know it. Juan let Hades at Flower. Deliberately. He let him rape her.”

“Brother, do you have any idea how idiotic that sounds? Accusing an animal of committing rape. Hades did what any stud horse would do with a mare in heat.”

“How did he get in at her?”

“How should I know? Maybe he flew over her stall on love’s light wings.”

Cesare started to stand, but Rodrigo put his hand on his son’s chest and shoved him back into his chair.

“Please, for God’s sake, no fisticuffs. We have had enough violence between the two of you.”

“Well, I’m not taking this lying down, Father. Lucrezia cried for half the night over it. I had to hold her in my arms in our bed to comfort her.”

Cesare was gratified by the twitch of jealousy that Juan could not quite keep from flitting across his face.

“I know you want my wife,” Cesare continued. “You’ve made that clear. Get it through your head. She’s mine. You can’t have her.”

Juan stood up abruptly and stalked out of the room, growling that he had heard enough.

Rodrigo began to weep when Cesare announced that he was moving with Lucrezia into town for the next few months at least.

“I won’t have her living here under these circumstances.”

“But, Cesare, surely we can work things out. We are a family.”

“I have a responsibility to my wife. Keep her safe. She doesn’t feel that here.”

“I lost her once when she was just an infant. Now you would take her from me again.”

“I’m sorry, Father, but it can’t be helped. Juan has made things unbearable for us.”

“What if I asked him to leave?”

“He’s needed here.”

“So are you.”

“Lucrezia needs me more.”

“I beg you not to deprive me of her.”

“Father, I don’t take this step lightly. I don’t enjoy causing you sorrow, but I must do this for Lucrezia. For her well-being. Our door will always be open to you. Visit whenever you like.”

 

Stating that they moved into town to be close to the doctor as her pregnancy advanced, Cesare and Lucrezia took a small cottage in town that the Fosters made available to them to rent and hired a pleasant hotel maid named Dorcas Green as their housekeeper.

“Looking after just two people will seem like a holiday to me,” she declared cheerfully.

Accustomed to niceties such as indoor plumbing and spacious rooms, Lucrezia was dismayed by the lack of such accommodations in the cottage, but resolved to make the best of it.

Cesare boarded Flower and his own horse, Jupiter at the livery stable. He had a stable boy walk the little mare over to visit with Lucrezia at the cottage each day. With her pregnancy obvious, Lucrezia remained at home indoors, but ventured out into the small back yard to hug Flower and treat her to apples.

 

Cesare rode to the Borgia ranch each day that the winter weather permitted to help tend to daily affairs, leaving Lucrezia in Mrs. Green’s company. The two women got on well. Lucrezia enjoyed assisting with light chores and even did a little cooking.

 

Rodrigo never lost an opportunity to complain to Cesare of how much he missed Lucrezia.

“Come see her, then, Father. She misses you too.”

“But _this_ is her home. Not some _shack_ with an outhouse. An outhouse! In the dead of winter. She is a lady. Yet you make her suffer such indignities.”

“I don’t like it either. But it’s still better than having her around Juan. Look, Father, you need him here to help manage the spread. I do as much as I can. It’s hard for me to be around my brother. I do it for your sake. But I am keeping Lucrezia right where she is, where I know she’s safe. Come spring, I’ll be looking into building a house of our own.”

“No, I can’t bear it! You must bring her back to me. You are breaking my heart.”

At that moment, Juan entered the parlor.

“Well, hello, Brother. What a pleasant surprise. And just how is it that you’re breaking our father’s heart?”

“Juan, Cesare refuses to bring Lucrezia back home. Convince him. Promise him you’ll behave towards her. Treat her with respect.”

“I always have. It’s Cesare who’s at fault. He sees monsters under the bed. He accuses horses of rape. He implies that I lust after my own sister. That’s a perversion I leave entirely to him.”

“Cesare, NO!” Rodrigo shouted, as his elder son jumped to his feet and swung a vicious left hook at Juan’s chin, knocking him to the floor.

Cesare stepped over his brother’s supine form, strode from the house and swung himself up onto Jupiter’s back, vowing to never set foot onto the Borgia ranch again while Juan dwelled there.

 

When Hades returned that evening to the stable alone, his withers and saddle stained with blood, an alarmed Rodrigo and the ranch hands set out in search of Juan. His body was found a short time later, out near the cattle herd, having been shot twice in the chest.


	8. Seeds Of Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein an accusation is made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most loving thanks to desade1970, my friend, confidant, muse and safe harbor.

Sheriff Morgan was summoned and immediately began an inquiry.

“Cesare, your father told me that you and your brother had quarreled. He said you once threatened to kill Juan. So I must ask you this question: just how much bad blood was there between the two of you?”

“It’s true that we argued quite a bit. I may have said something like ‘I’ll kill you’ at one time or another. But I didn’t kill him. I never would have. He was my brother.”

“What were the nature of your arguments?”

“Well, uh…”

“Cesare, don’t be afraid to speak the truth to Sheriff Morgan. He is a wise man. My husband quarreled with his brother over me. Juan seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. Cesare had to set him straight. Then he put it behind him. There was no lingering bad blood on his part. I don’t know about on Juan’s part, though.”

“So as far as you’re concerned, Cesare, the disagreement was settled?”

Lucrezia interrupted.

“If Cesare should have been angry at anyone, it should have been with me for being foolish. But he forgave me. And Juan.”

“Your father said you visited him at the ranch yesterday.”

“I had been going to the ranch nearly every day, Sheriff. Doing my usual routine. I stopped by the house to talk with my father for about half an hour.”

“You were at the ranch all day?”

“I arrived back here around dinner time. I was in the company of the ranch hands the entire time I was at the spread.”

“Except for the trip out and back.”

“Well, yes.”

“So you were alone for a total of…”

“About two hours each way. I left here at about five in the morning and got to the ranch around seven, and then I left for home at two in the afternoon and arrived around four.”

“No one saw you on the trail coming or going?”

“Not to my knowledge. But I didn’t see anyone either. Including Juan.”

“You will swear to that?”

“On a stack of Bibles.”

“What kind of guns do you own?”

“A pair of Colt .45 caliber Frontiers.”

“Do you ever use any other firearms?”

“There are rifles at the ranch which I carry as needed when I am there. My Frontiers are the ones I have with me all the time.”

“What kind of rifles do you use at the ranch?”

“Winchesters. Remingtons. Sharps for buffalo hunting.”

“Well, Cesare. Mrs. Borgia. Thank you for your time. If I have any other questions, I will call upon you.”

Cesare showed Sheriff Morgan out and then returned to Lucrezia.

“I didn’t kill Juan.”

“I know. Hold me, Cesare. I need your arms about me.”

 

In the absence of any other viable suspects, Sheriff Morgan reluctantly arrested Cesare and conducted him to the town lockup.

Frantic, Lucrezia asked a neighbor to ride out to the Borgia spread and entreat her father to come to her at once. She embraced him when he arrived, and began to weep.

“Father, the sheriff has arrested Cesare on suspicion of Juan’s murder. We have to do something.”

“Lucrezia, your brother is dead. He has been murdered. Do you not care? Do you not feel grief?”

“Of course I feel grief. I loved Juan. And I am sorry for your grief. But Cesare needs our help now.”

“What is to be done? He had reason to want Juan dead. He had opportunity to shoot him when he said he was leaving the ranch and rode out alone.”

“Father, that’s shocking! Are you saying you think Cesare killed Juan?”

“Who else would want to?”

“I don’t know. But Cesare didn’t do it. How can you doubt him, Father?”

“He has a temper. He is jealous when it comes to you. He had quarreled violently with Juan just before he left the ranch, and even struck him.”

“Father! Cesare is in _jail_! He is innocent. What can we do?”

“I don’t know what can be done for him. But you must come home with me. At once. Bring your Mrs. Green with you. I simply cannot rest knowing that you are living here in this hovel, untended, unprotected.”

“I am staying right here, close to Cesare.”

“I forbid it. Come back to me. I have lost Juan. I lost your mother. I won’t lose you.”

“Then don’t desert Cesare. He is innocent. Help him.”

“I cannot. There is nothing to be done.”

“You believe he killed Juan!”

“Lucrezia, accept that he may have!”

“Never! And I cannot accept that you think him guilty.”

“Would you come back home if Cesare came with you?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will call upon Sheriff Morgan and see what I can do.”

“Let me go with you.”

“In your condition?”

“I think my pleas may be all the more compelling because of it.”

 

Rodrigo and Lucrezia went to the sheriff and begged him to release Cesare until the district judge came to town to conduct a trial. The sight of a weeping, heavily-pregnant young wife moved the lawman, a husband and father himself. In reality, there was not one shred of evidence against Cesare that was not purely circumstantial. It was debatable whether he should have ever been arrested in the first place.

“Now, Cesare, I am taking a leap of faith here. Don’t let me down.”

“I won’t.”

Sheriff Morgan swung the cell door open and released his prisoner into the arms of his grateful wife.

“Take him home, Mrs. Borgia. Try not to worry too much.”

“Thank you, Sheriff. We will never be able to repay your kindness.”

“Just see that he stays in the jurisdiction.”

“Sheriff, I am an honest man. I did not kill my brother. I want my day in court to prove it. Meantime, I will look after my wife and go about my business. Much obliged for your trust in me.”

 

Dorcas Green was pleased to accompany Lucrezia and Cesare to the grand house on the Borgia ranch. She liked her comfortable room and the convenience of indoor plumbing and running water. Edward Smith appreciated the assistance she brought, as she insisted upon doing Mrs. Borgia’s laundry.

Jupiter and Flower were returned to their stalls, wherein they happily settled.

 

Lucrezia, overwhelmed to have Cesare back at her side, dazzled him with affection. In spite of her pregnancy, or perhaps because of it, he found her irresistibly enticing in her lace-trimmed pink silk wrapper, and delighted her by spilling abundantly upon it when she caressed him in their bed.

“You still want me,” she marveled. “Even though my belly is so big and I’m so clumsy.”

“You are the most beautiful woman in the world. I love your belly. I love all of you.”

He gently stroked her soft muff, flecked with his spunk.

“You deny me nothing of yourself. You don’t shy away from me. Despite that we can’t make love right now in the usual way, you still want to do things to please me.”

His hungry mouth sought hers.

 

Without Juan, Hades languished in his stall, dejected, untended. Lucrezia walked out to the stables and softly called to the Appaloosa, whose ears pricked up when he heard her voice. She had brought him an apple from storage, a bit wrinkled but still sweet. He nibbled it, tickling her palm with his soft muzzle.

“Poor Hades. None of this is your fault.”

She fetched a brush and began grooming him. The big stallion stood quietly for her, glad for her attention.

Cesare, searching for Lucrezia, entered the stable. Seeing her with Hades, he gasped in alarm and started to draw his gun.

“Honey, get away from that horse before he tramples you. High time I got rid of him.”

“No, Cesare. You mustn’t hurt him. As you can see, he’s standing here gentle as a lamb.”

“Could it be that Beauty has tamed the Beast? He doesn’t let just anyone get close to him.”

“Hades is a living creature, Darling. He has feelings. He misses Juan.”

“Honey, at least let me get the farrier to help you. Hades is used to his touch and allows it.”

“Thank you. He’s such a big horse that I don’t think I would be able to completely reach him.”

“Can you really want to keep Hades after what he did to Flower?

“That was Juan’s doing. Hades was just his instrument. He’s not to blame.”

“Well, we can have Hades gelded. That might gentle him a bit.”

“No. Don’t. He’s too mature for that. Let him be. He won’t hurt me. I know Flower is scared of him. We can arrange to keep the two of them apart, can’t we?”

“If that’s what you want.”

Hades rubbed his head against Lucrezia’s shoulder and she kissed his nose.

 

So delighted was Rodrigo to have his daughter back under his roof that he almost seemed to have forgotten that his son’s body was being prepared for burial.

 

Juan was laid to rest out on the open range where he had ridden most of his short life. Lucrezia wept quietly for the brother whom she loved. She wept for his anger, his frustration, his twisted heart. Cesare, grim-faced, stood with his arm around her. Rodrigo began to sob when he was asked to toss a clump of earth into the grave.

“Oh, my boy! My poor boy! How I wronged you! I should never have brought you here…”

Lucrezia moved to her father’s side and embraced him.

“Father. Don’t blame yourself. Juan loved this ranch. He loved you.”

Rodrigo wailed even more loudly.


	9. Tender Buds Of Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Lucrezia meets her heart's desire

Rodrigo now demanded Lucrezia’s constant company, requiring her to sit with him before the fireplace, holding his hand, reading to him. He would ask to hear melancholy poems and tales of great loss, and he would weep for Juan.

When Lucrezia, pleading fatigue, could finally get Rodrigo to let go of her hand, she would retire to her bathroom in exhaustion. Mrs. Green would help her into the tub and then dry and dress her in snug nightgowns.

“I believe the baby has dropped, my dear,” Dorcas observed one evening as she wrapped Lucrezia in a large towel which she had warmed in front of the fireplace. “It will likely be another week or two, but things are beginning to get under way.”

 

Although Rodrigo would not be parted from Lucrezia, he seemed to want little or nothing to do with Cesare. He spoke to him curtly, if he spoke at all, and refused to take meals with him or meet his gaze.

“Father, why are you being so cold to Cesare?” Lucrezia asked.

“How would you expect me to be toward the man who may have killed my son?”

“Cesare is your son, too, and he didn’t kill Juan.”

“I wish I could share your certainty, Daughter. But I cannot.”

“Can you really believe him capable of murder?”

“Anyone is capable of anything, under the right circumstances.”

“Father, you break my heart. Cesare needs your help now more than ever.”

“He will have it on your account. But not for his own.”

“Innocent until proven guilty. Can you not at least allow him that?”

I am a human being, child, not a law book.”

 

Lucrezia snuggled close to Cesare in bed.

“I asked Father why he was so cold to you, my love. He actually believes you may have killed Juan. I can’t understand him.”

“I admit it makes me sad that he could have such doubts about me.”

“I don’t want to live with him since he treats you like this. You don’t deserve it.”

“Now, honey, don’t be thinking that. I’m mostly out of the house anyway, so Father’s behavior really doesn’t affect me that much. You’re the one who has to put up with him. If he’s too unpleasant for you, then we will leave. But I really don’t want to uproot you again, especially so close to the baby coming. I think you’re better off here, more comfortable.”

“Father is so bossy. He wanted to send for a wet nurse, but I won’t hear of it. And he tried to convince me to stop sleeping with you. He said we should stay away from each other until after the baby is born or you might hurt me.”

“Well. He said that, huh? And do you agree?”

She took Cesare’s hand and placed it on her thigh.

“You’d only hurt me if you did stay away from me. I need you, Cesare.”

He slipped his hand under her nightgown.

“You have me, darlin’.”

 

A well-respected attorney by the name of Howard Buckley was engaged to defend Cesare. For Lucrezia’s sake, Rodrigo paid his hefty retainer. The trial would begin when the district judge arrived in town on the circuit of his territory. Meantime Howard conferred with his client and began to prepare his case.

 

With the arrival of March came the start of Lucrezia’s labor. For about ten days, she had been experiencing the sensation of her belly bowing up and tightening, but the doctor, when sent for, had said it was her body getting ready for the actual birth.

“Your time is close, Lucrezia. What you’re feeling is kinda like ‘practice.’ Nothing to fear. Cesare, quit fretting. Your wife is just fine.”

 

She was having mid-morning tea with her father in front of the fireplace when she stood suddenly and pressed her hand to her belly.

“What is it, Lucrezia? Is it the child?”

“I think it may be.”

“I’ll get Mrs. Green. And I’ll ask Tommy to fetch Doctor Jonas.”

“And Cesare. I need Cesare.”

Rodrigo sighed.

“Him, too.”

 

The waiting was excruciating. Rodrigo and Cesare paced opposite sides of the parlor, two men, in agonies of anxiety, who should have been able to lean on each other for support, but could not even look at each other. Cesare wanted to shout at his father that he was innocent, that he needed his father’s love and trust, but he could not bring himself to do that. How could Rodrigo doubt him? Cesare felt crushed by his father’s suspicions.

Dorcas came to the parlor with frequent reports. Lucrezia had already been in labor for four hours before the doctor arrived, and things had moved along quickly.

“Cesare, Doctor says it won’t be too long. He’s surprised at how fast it’s going. Lucrezia is holding up well. Don’t worry.”

The sun was just starting to set when Cesare heard the first cries of his child. He stood up, his eyes glazed over, his mouth open.  

“Father…”

 

A beaming Doctor Jonas clapped Cesare on the shoulder.

“A beautiful little girl. Healthy, with a headful of dark hair, like her daddy. Give Mrs. Green a few minutes to get things in order, and then you can see them.”

“Are they…?”

“Both fine. That little one was in some big hurry to come into the world. Easy delivery, slick as a whistle.”

 

Lucrezia’s face was still flushed from her efforts, but she was lying on clean sheets and dressed in a clean gown when Cesare was admitted to the bedroom. She smiled and beckoned him to come close.

“Hey, honey,” he murmured softly, sitting on the side of the bed, stroking her cheek.

Lucrezia gently placed the baby in his awkward arms. He gazed into the tiny face of his baby daughter and his eyes welled up with tears.

Lucrezia touched his hand.

“Desiree. I want to name her Desiree.”

“You sure? Not after your mama or yourself?”

“You, Cesare. Her father.”

Cesare grinned and then kissed Lucrezia’s smiling lips.

“I love you, darlin’.”

Rodrigo stood in the doorway, talking softly to Mrs. Green.

“Father, come and see your granddaughter.”

“Oh, well, Lucrezia, I’ll see her later. Now may not be the best time. I just wanted to make sure that you are all right.”

“I’m fine. So is she. Her name is Desiree.”

“Ah. Very nice. I’ll come and visit you later when things have settled.”

Rodrigo departed, and Lucrezia turned her face to Cesare.

“What is wrong with him? Why won’t he come to see the baby?”

“He refuses to be around me. Even now.”

“I long for your trial so you can prove your innocence, but I fear that Father may not accept a ‘not guilty’ verdict if he really believes you killed Juan.”

“Honey, you just think about yourself and our little lady here. Don’t go getting upset.”

Desiree made a tiny mewing cry. Lucrezia took the baby and brought her to her breast. Tentatively, then eagerly the child began to nurse. With a timid forefinger, Cesare stroked her silky dark hair, the exact color of his own.

“She’s all right, then?”

“Right as rain. Isn’t she beautiful?”

“The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, next to you.”

Cesare remained for about an hour with his wife and daughter, speaking softly and kissing them both.

“Honey. I’m going to leave for a little bit so Father can come and see you.”

“How kind to him you are! But then come back soon.”

“You should sleep now.”

“I’ll sleep tonight when you come to bed with me.”

“Doc Jordan says you need to have the bed to yourself for a little while.”

“I’ll thank him to mind his own business. What I need is you here with me, Cesare Borgia.”

“Well, all right. But rest. If she needs anything, send for me.”

 

Rodrigo kissed Lucrezia’s forehead.

“Father, come hold your granddaughter.”

“Not now, dear. I’m too nervous. I want to see you. You are such a brave little soldier.”

“It really wasn’t so bad. And now that Desiree is here, I have forgotten it already. She is worth everything. Isn’t she beautiful?”

“Yes, yes, lovely. The doctor says you are well, but need rest. You should have let me employ a baby nurse for you like I wanted. I will leave you now. Get some sleep, my dear.”

“Please send Cesare back, would you?”

“He will only prevent you from resting.”

“He won’t. He also admonished me to sleep. I will, if he is here.”

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

 

Having stayed the night, Doctor Jonas came in at dawn to check on Lucrezia and Desiree and was surprised to find Cesare in a nightshirt, just getting out of bed. Lucrezia, with the baby sleeping beside her, had fallen into a fitful doze about a half hour before.

“She insisted, Doc,” Cesare whispered. “She said she wouldn’t sleep unless I slept with her.”

“Then, did she have a restful night?”

“She must have. I told her to wake me if she needed anything, and she didn’t.”

“So _you_ had a good night’s sleep. I know that baby kept her mother awake most of the night. Newborns do that. Lucrezia even had to get up out of bed to go to her. You’re not much help, I’m afraid.”

“Sorry, Doc.”

“Don’t tell me. Tell your wife.”

“Well, I can’t very well nurse the baby.”

“No, but you could at least get up and fetch her to her mama. Or clean her up when she makes a mess. You wife had an easy time with this birth, but it’s still a toll on a woman. She needs rest and care. I don’t want her getting out of bed. Have Mrs. Green look after her and the baby. A woman knows how to do that better than a man does. Assign her housekeeping duties to someone else for now. If your wife insists that you sleep with her, fine, but keep your hands off her for the next six weeks. Don’t look at me like that. I don’t expect you to like it, but I do expect you to cooperate. She needs time to heal up, and it will take every bit of that long.”

“Well, can she…uh...can we do…other things?”

“Listen, Son. You’re a lucky man. Your wife loves you. Make each other happy best as you can, but no intercourse. You get my meaning?”


	10. Virility, Youth And Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Rodrigo recalls...

One night, when her father picked her up from her cradle, Desiree gazed up at him and smiled. Cesare stopped in his tracks, captivated by the spell of the tiny enchantress.

“Lucrezia,” he said softly, “I think she likes me.”

 

Six weeks. Six interminable weeks. Six weeks that crawled by at a snail’s pace.

Cesare entered his bedroom after a day spent in the saddle, to find Lucrezia lying on the bed, bathed, perfumed, wearing only white silk stockings and lace garters.

“Hey, cowboy,” she purred.

“Damn, Woman! Ain’t you a vision! Give me a few minutes to wash up and I’ll…”

She shook her head.

“No. You come here now. I waited all this time for you and I won’t wait another moment.”

“But I’m all dirty and sweaty.”

“I know. I like it.”

Cesare stripped in seconds and pounced. Lucrezia squeaked with delight and eagerly embraced his sweaty, spicy, virile body.

“I want you, my darling. Now. Give it to me now.”

“Are you sure you’re ready? I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

She brought his hand between her thighs.

“Do I feel ready?”

He covered her mouth with his, pushing his tongue between her lips. She grasped his pecker, gone rigid as a gun barrel, and rubbed it against her muff. Her wet heat nearly caused him to come, but he managed to control himself and plunged inside of her.

_Goddam!_

 

Rodrigo sat alone in the parlor, feeling sorry for himself. Now that her six weeks of enforced celibacy had ended, Lucrezia had deserted him to give herself to Cesare. They were up there now, probably romping all over each other, going at it like a pair of rabbits.

Did it not occur to them that he had been a young husband once himself? What they did not know, what no one knew, was that his wife, his cold, correct, restrained, buttoned-up wife was an uninhibited tigress in their bedroom, mesmerizing him with her body and her beauty, driving him mad with lust for her. That she had such an appetite for and enjoyment of physical love had been a glorious discovery for him, one he had accepted with surprise and delight, thanking his lucky stars.

Was Vannozza’s daughter anything like she had been? Was she as passionate and wanton? Was Cesare enjoying the kind of carnal delights with Lucrezia that Rodrigo had had with her mother? Did she kiss him _there_ , as Vannozza had kissed him, an act which he had previously known only whores to be willing to perform and which aroused him beyond reason?

Tears stung Rodrigo’s eyes.

He had loved his wife so. Yet he had left her. Admittedly, he had fully expected her to change her mind and come to him. But she had not. And he had not returned to her.

All those nights, those lonely, desperate, sleepless nights, craving her, aching for her. Nights when he resolved to pack up and go back to Philadelphia, to her arms, to her bed. Then morning would come and he would saddle his horse and head out, inhaling deep draughts of the pure, crisp air and gaze out over his dominion, extending endlessly, sprawling and open and free. His sons, strapping and handsome, would be riding beside him, like princes, like adventurers. He could not give that up.

Now it was his son who lay in the bed of a woman who had captivated him with her body and her allure. Rodrigo wept for his own wasted virility and youth. But was he so old, really? Too old?

 

Polly welcomed her customer with a bright smile.

“You haven’t been to see me in a little while. I was afraid you forgot about me.”

“Things have been…unsettled.”

“Don’t I know it! But you’re here now. Let’s have us a good time. You know I always liked you better than either of them other two.”

“And why is that, my dear?”

“You’re livelier. More fun. And you treat me nicer. You bring me presents.”

“A gentleman should always show appreciation to a lady.”

“ _He_ said I ain’t no lady. Hurt my feelings real bad.”

“For shame. I should have taught him better manners.”

“That’s not all he did to me. Why, he got Sheriff Morgan to…”

 

The district judge arrived in town on a Tuesday in June and arranged to conduct Cesare’s trial beginning on Thursday. Lucrezia bid her husband a tearful goodbye when he turned himself in to the sheriff.

“This will only be for a short while, honey. I’ll be home with you and Desiree before you know it.”

Lucrezia and Dorcas took rooms at the hotel for the duration of court proceedings. Rodrigo reluctantly checked in as well, unwilling to let his daughter be without his presence.

Desiree, sensing her mother’s anxiety, fussed and cried, straining already-frayed nerves. Lucrezia walked her, rocked her, fed her, changed her, and still she cried.

“Let me take her out for an airing,” Mrs. Green said. “It’s a pleasant day. She might like a change of scenery.”

_‘And getting the two of you apart may allow each of you to calm down,’ she thought with compassion. ‘I feel for the both of you.’_

“You should send Desiree to a nurse,” Rodrigo huffed to Lucrezia. “You are under enough stress without having to worry about a child. Allow me to make arrangements.”

“Absolutely not. I won’t be parted from her. Especially now with her father where he is.”

“You worry too much. Always brooding.”

“What would you have me do? Cesare is going on trial for his life! How can you be so calm?”

“I have faith in Justice, my dear. If Cesare is innocent…”

_“IF!”_ Lucrezia shrieked. “ _IF!_   How can you doubt him, for even a moment?”

“I watched Cesare and Juan grow up, Lucrezia. They fought constantly. Always at each other’s throats. Furious rivalry. Your coming intensified the competition. Juan truly believed that if you had met him first, he would have had you. Jealousy over you may have easily driven Cesare to murder.”

“Ridiculous. Cesare knows I love him and no one else. He has no reason to be jealous.”

“Jealousy is unreasoning. I don’t mean to be insensitive to your feelings, my dear. I know you are frantic over Cesare. But can you not understand my feelings? My son is dead. And my other son is suspected of murdering him. How horrible that is! I don’t know what to believe. I may end up losing both my sons, and my daughter as well, if you come to despise me over Cesare.”

His voice cracked and he began to sob. Lucrezia threw her arms around him.

“Father, I’m sorry. Forgive me for ignoring your feelings. Your heart must be broken.”

“I was deprived of you for so long, my darling child. Now that I have you back, I could not stand to lose you. Promise me that when this trial is over, you will come home with me and live with me in harmony and happiness.”

“When Cesare is acquitted, we will all go home together.”

“Yes, of course. Together.”

 

Every seat in the courtroom was occupied. The bailiff called for order. Ignoring the buzz his appearance created, Sheriff Morgan escorted Cesare in and seated him beside his lawyer at the defendant’s table. He acknowledged Lucrezia’s tremulous smile with a nod of his head. She reached for her father’s hand.

 

“All rise,” the bailiff shouted. Judge Parker entered and took his seat, assuming command.

Court was now in session.


	11. A Terrible Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein is borne false witness

The morning passed as a blur in her head. Opening statements. Purely circumstantial evidence. No witnesses. No confession. Motion to dismiss. Denied.

 

Ignoring the stares and behind-the-hand whispers of the people whom she passed, Lucrezia made her way to the livery stable during the court’s luncheon recess. The enormous form of Hades was unmistakable, even in the semi-darkness of the stalls. He nickered affectionately when he saw her.

“Hello, my Dark God,” she called to him softly, holding out a carrot to him.

 

_While Dorcas and Desiree were conveyed in the buckboard wagon, Lucrezia had ridden the big Appaloosa when she accompanied Cesare into town for the start of the trial, unwilling to leave him at the ranch where he was likely to be neglected by ranch hands who were wary of him. Cesare reminded her that Hades allowed the farrier to handle him, but she would not be persuaded._

_“No, I want him close to me. If I leave him behind, he will languish.”_

_“How can you not despise that horse?”_

_“Darling, I will say it again. Hades only behaved as any stallion would have. He mustn’t be blamed for what Juan brought about.”_

_“Still and all…”_

_“I met you and behaved as any woman would when meeting the man she knew her heart wanted. I could not hold back. The fact that we were siblings did not keep me from your bed. How hard did you struggle with scruples on our first night together in that hotel?”_

_“I get your point, Little Mrs. You do look awful cute, a little tiny girl on that great big horse. I am amazed at how docile he is for you.”_

_“He knows I care for him.”_

 

Hades gently pushed his nose against Lucrezia’s shoulder and she threw her arms around his neck, as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Oh, my dear friend, I am so frightened! Why is this happening? I know you miss Juan. I grieve for him too. Help me to be strong.”

“Ma’am…”

Lucrezia turned to the livery stable groom, a fair-haired young man in his late teens, who had spoken.

“I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, Ma’am. My name is Enoch. I just wanted to ask you about your horse. He don’t put up with very many people fussing at him, but he sorta let me make friends with him. Prob’ly because he seen you talking to me, he figures I’m all right.”

“Is he eating well?”

“Oh, yes, Ma’am. He is. If I feed him, nobody else.”

“Good. I will stop by later on and perhaps we can try exercising and grooming him together. He’s a fine horse, but can be high strung. Please be sure that you are the only one who approaches him, Enoch.”

“Count on me.”

 

“Do you swear that your testimony is true, so help you God?”

“I do.”

“State your name.”

“Polly Bender.”

The prosecutor began his questioning.

“What is your occupation?”

“Why, Hank Daniels, you ought to know that.”

“Tell the Court.”

“Well, all right. There’s no need for you to blush. I’m kind of a whatchacallit…filly du jour.”

“Do you mean a _fille de joie?”_

“Ain’t that what I said? Anyways, I make men happy. For a living.”

“I think we understand. Did you have occasion to provide your services to Mr. Cesare Borgia on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 25, 1879?”

“I did.”

Cesare jumped to his feet and shouted, “That’s a lie!”

His lawyer pulled him back down and hissed for him to be quiet. He turned to Lucrezia and mouthed the words ‘She’s lying.’ Lucrezia nodded.

“It ain’t no lie. He told me that his wife was about to have a baby and he was feeling…well, you know. So I took care of him. Then he told me that he had done a terrible thing the day before.”

“Did he say what that terrible thing was?”

“He said he had killed his own brother.”

Howard stood.

“Your Honor, hearsay.”

“Jury will disregard Miss Bender’s testimony.”

But it was very unlikely that they would.

 

“Howard, I did not visit that whore. She’s lying.”

“I know. The judge instructed the jury to disregard her testimony.”

“But how can they? She said what she said. They ain’t gonna just forget it.”

“No. We will have to give them something else to think about. Your wife will take the stand and rebut her testimony. Say that you were with her and could not possibly have visited Polly.”

“Well, I was. With my wife.”

“All right, then.”

 

The visiting marshal paid a call on Polly Bender, who cheerfully served him. As he dressed, she sprawled across her bed.

“So what’s gonna happen with Cesare, do you think?”

“Oh, I really couldn’t say, Polly. I’m not allowed to comment on a trial in progress.”

“But ain’t he gonna be in a pickle when he gets convicted!” She giggled in delight.

“A pickle ain’t the half of it. He’ll be hanged. Strung up deader’n a doornail.”

“What? Nobody said nothin’ about hanging!”

“Well, that is the penalty for murder.”

“Oh, Marshal, I done a terrible thing.”


	12. Kythira

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein our tale comes to a conclusion

The Marshal escorted Polly to see the judge.

“Your Honor, I done wrong, and I need to get straight with you. I told a lie about Cesare. His Pa and Sheriff Morgan put me up to it. The sheriff and Mr. Borgia come to me and told me I should testify that Cesare told me he killed Juan. They said it would serve him right to get him in a mite of trouble after the way he treated me. See, I always been a little sweet on him, and after he got married, he acted like he’s shamed to know me. It hurt my feelings. So I wanted to hurt him back. But nobody said nothin’ about him hanging.”

“Are you telling me, Miss Bender, that your sworn testimony is false? That the defendant’s father and Sheriff Morgan induced you to lie on the witness stand?”

“It’s all a lie, Judge. Cesare ain’t been with me in ages. He ain’t never told me he killed his brother. I just wanted to teach him a lesson for bein’ uppity to me on account of his highfalutin’ wife. Sheriff Morgan and Mr. Borgia didn’t say nothin’ about Cesare getting hanged. I didn’t mean to get him hanged.”

 

Mrs. Green had taken Desiree for an outing in her Haskell baby carriage. Lucrezia entered the hotel room where Rodrigo was seated with a large snifter of brandy. He stood to greet her, and she ran to his arms. He folded her into an embrace.

“I’m not sure the trial is going in Cesare’s favor, Father. I’m afraid for him.”

“He has competent counsel. Put your faith in Howard.”

“But those lies! Why did Polly lie?”

“A grudge, perhaps.”

“But she’s under oath!”

“Do you think that means anything to the likes of her? Really, Lucrezia, you sometimes seem so naïve.”

“But to lie knowing that someone could hang because of it…”

“She has it in for Cesare. A woman scorned. She was furious because every time Cesare brought you to town, he paid Sheriff Morgan to lock her up so that you didn’t have to see her.”

“He did? How do you know that?”

“Cesare must have told me.”

“He was ashamed of ever having had anything to do with Polly. He would never have told you about her.”

“All right. Sheriff Morgan told me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. One man to another. Really, Lucrezia, you must stop thinking about this.”

“It’s _all_ I can think about. If Cesare is convicted, he will be hanged.”

Rodrigo rocked Lucrezia in his arms and pressed his cheek to her hair.

“We will just have to be prepared for that.”

“How can we possibly be prepared for such a thing?”

“My dear, you must know I will always be there to care for you.”

“But Cesare…”

“Cesare, Cesare, always Cesare! Lucrezia, I have been patient with you about this, but the time has come for you to move past him. Think ahead.”

“Father! You know Cesare is innocent!”

Rodrigo kissed Lucrezia’s forehead.

“Yes, of course I know. I killed Juan.”

Lucrezia’s jaw dropped in horror.

“You? Why?”

“I am a man too, Lucrezia, the same as my sons. They couldn’t think of you as a sister; I can’t think of you as a daughter. With Juan and Cesare out of the way, we can live the life we were meant to live. We can send Desiree back east to boarding school and have our own children. If you wish, we can visit the child every year. You could go to New York City and have a new wardrobe made so you’ll always be in the latest fashions. Maybe attend the opera. Have a little glamour in your life.”

“Father, that’s crazy.”

“Why? Why is it crazy?”

“Because I am your daughter!”

“Cesare is your brother. But that didn’t seem to daunt either of you.”

Lucrezia bit her lip.

“You have me there. But I could never love you like that. Father, you must go to Sheriff Morgan and tell him the truth.”

“Morgan is in on it. Why do you think he arrested Cesare in the first place, even though there was no evidence against him? I asked Morgan to lock him up to get him out of the way. He released Cesare at my request because you wouldn’t return home without him. Morgan is the best sheriff money can buy. I paid that whore Polly for her testimony too.”

“You’d let Cesare hang for your crime?”

“To keep you? Yes! I’d let a thousand men hang. A million. You may not love me now, but you will. I will make you as happy as he did. Even more so. I am the seed from which he sprang.”

“No, Father. He is good and gentle and he loves me. You are nothing like him. What you want is unthinkable. Your crimes are monstrous.”

“But I did them for you! How do you think I felt all those years when your mother refused to come to me? All those nights alone. I was still young. Still vigorous. Sometimes my loneliness got the better of me and I took a quick trip into town. How ashamed I was then! How I missed my wife! When I saw you, I was overwhelmed. You looked just like her. It was like getting her back. But you favored Cesare. I would hear you in your room with him, and I would burn with jealousy, just as Juan did. But I bore it, because I at least got to have you here, to see you and have you close to me. Unlike your mother, you attended upon me. You were obedient and obliging. I had hope that someday you would come to realize that I was the source of everything here, and that you would love me for it. Then Juan did what he did, and Cesare took you away. I couldn’t stand it. I had to act to get you back. The Borgia ranch is mine. My kingdom. I built it. I’ll make you its queen. Why would you settle for a mere prince when you can have the king himself? Come to me. I’ll make you happy. I’ll do anything for you. I love you. You must love me.”

She backed away, revolted by his embrace, holding her arms out defensively.

“Don’t shrink from me, my darling.”

She started to run, but he caught her, pressing his mouth to her throat. Her flesh crawled at the touch of his lips, his hands, the reek of alcohol which hung on him.

“Father, no! Let me go!”

His grip on her was like a vise, like shackles. She struggled to free herself from his grasp.

“You belong to me now, Lucrezia. I discarded my sons for you. You will give me new ones.”

Lucrezia broke away and ran down the steps to the lobby, with Rodrigo in pursuit.

“Help me,” she screamed. “Someone help me!”

She ran through the street to the livery stable and dashed into the stall where Hades was kept. The huge stallion placed himself in front of her and reared up, striking Rodrigo square on the chest with his iron-shod hooves, knocking him to the straw-covered floor.

“Hades, no! Stop!” Lucrezia screamed, but the big horse was intent upon defending her. In a moment of absolute horror, Rodrigo Borgia’s life was over.

Hades backed down but continued to stand in front of Lucrezia. She put her hand on his neck to calm him.

Enoch came forward holding a rifle.

“That horse ain’t gonna hurt you, Miz Borgia,” he said quietly but firmly.

“Lower your gun, Enoch. Hades won’t hurt me. He was protecting me. Please send for one of the marshals.”

 

Polly readily admitted she had committed perjury and that Rodrigo and the Sheriff had put her up to lying. Morgan, protesting his innocence, was taken into custody. Threatened with being accused for Juan’s murder, he began to talk. Better to be charged as an accessory after the fact than to murder itself.

“Mr. Borgia came to me and confessed that he had murdered his son, Juan, in a fit of rage. He prevailed upon me to help him in a scheme to pin the blame on his other son, Cesare. He said his boys were becoming troublesome and impossible to control, but his daughter-in-law was nice and obedient, and he wanted to take care of her and see to it that she got to inherit everything. He offered me money—a lot of money—to help him. So much money that it turned my head and I made a bad mistake. I’m real sorry for what I did.”

 

Cesare was released into Lucrezia’s waiting arms.

“Take us home, my darling,” she whispered to him.

 

Rodrigo was buried in the churchyard. Cesare and Lucrezia could not bear to have him lie beside the son whose life he had snuffed out.

The townspeople reacted with shock at the revelation that their sheriff and their leading citizen could have been involved in such a conspiracy of murder and corruption, and were grateful when federal marshals took over until a new sheriff could be appointed.

Lucrezia, to Cesare’s discomfort and embarrassment, called upon Polly Bender and invited her to tea at the hotel to thank her for coming forward. With the lovely and refined Mrs. Borgia speaking on Polly’s behalf, the judge went easy on the perjury charge and she was not imprisoned. With the Borgia’s backing, she left town to begin a new life in Kansas City as the proprietress of a dry goods shop. Business faltered, until she caught the interest of a canny banker who liked her red hair and sassy demeanor enough to marry her and help her put her store on a profitable path.

Moved by Enoch’s gallantry, Lucrezia offered him a place at the ranch, caring for the horses. In the fullness of time, Flower gave birth to a lively Appaloosa colt whom Lucrezia called Apollo. To the relief of the ranch hands, Enoch took over looking after Hades, who was kept in a barn by himself, away from Flower and the other horses. When the young man began to court the eldest daughter of the Fosters, he proudly rode into town on the big mount, swaggering a bit at the impressive spectacle he knew they presented.

Dorcas Green was attracted to the calm, steady nature of Edward Smith, and the two were married a year after she had come to live at the ranch. Of a cheerful and vivacious temperament, she was delighted to tend to the children that Lucrezia bore Cesare with notable regularity. Cesare Junior arrived two years after Desiree, followed by Noah, Samuel, Virgil and Jonathan. When her seventh child was born, she insisted upon naming him Juan.

“He deserves to be remembered,” she said firmly.

 

Sitting in a chair on the veranda one evening shortly after his homecoming, Cesare gazed fondly at Lucrezia as she nursed Desiree at her breast.

“Damn, Woman! Ain’t you a vision!”

She smiled, lowering her eyelashes demurely.

“Things have changed so much, honey. So many bad things have happened. So many bad memories. I had been studying on building us a new house of our own before Juan…before Juan died. Maybe we should think about that. Get off the ranch. Start fresh.”

“Cesare, no. This is your home. You grew up here. We can have a good life here. Raise our family here. And it’s not just us. You have loyal people who have been with you for so many years. You can’t abandon them. Think about this: change the name of the place. Give it a new identity, a new dedication.”

“What do you want to call it? How about ‘Lucrezia’s Domain?’”

“No. ‘Kythira.’ It’s a Greek island, the place where Aphrodite was thought to have come ashore after she was born from the sea. A place of beauty and love. You and I will make it that. Together.”

The expansive splendor of the Oklahoma territory and the sprawling ranch inspired the hearts of all who dwelled there. Cesare and Lucrezia remained steadfast in their love for each other, for their children and friends, and for the land upon which they trod.

 

 _The beauty of the trees,_  
_the softness of the air,_  
_the fragrance of the grass,_  
_speaks to me._

 _The summit of the mountain,_  
_the thunder of the sky,_  
_the rhythm of the sea,_  
_speaks to me._

 _The strength of the fire,_  
_the taste of salmon,_  
_the trail of the sun,_  
_and the life that never goes away,_  
_they speak to me._

_And my heart soars._

 

_Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Watuth (1899 – 1981)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as ever to my dear Muse.


End file.
